New York Finally Legalizes Electric Bikes and Scooters
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow8162:
New York finally legalizes electric bikes and scooters:
New York's status as a stubborn holdout against electric bikes and scooters appears to finally be over. Included in the state's tentative budget agreement reached on April 1st is a provision that would legalize throttle-based bikes and scooters, which would effectively end the City of New York's unfair and frustratingly long-running crackdown on immigrant delivery workers.
The budget language almost exactly mirrors a bill that passed the New York State Legislature last year but was inexplicably vetoed at the last minute by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It changes state law to legalize e-bikes and scooters but would give localities the ability to decide for themselves how to regulate the vehicles. Throttle-based e-bikes favored by delivery workers would be legal, and dockless scooter services like Bird and Lime would need to be permitted by municipalities before launching. Scooters would stay illegal in Manhattan, though the city could eventually overrule that provision.
It's undoubtedly a huge win for delivery workers and immigrant rights groups
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