New York City Steps Up on Safer E-Bike Charging
Written by: Rémy Rossi | January 17, 2024 | Time to read 3 min
NYC is doing more to ensure riders’ electric bikes are powered by safe, high-quality batteries. And given the recent stats, that’s a good move.
More about the Author: Remy Rossi
Rémy Rossi is a bike writer, mechanic, and educator who got his start in community-based bike shops and co-ops. With a decade in the industry, he still wrenches on bikes when he can and plays bike polo on a fixie.
New York City has taken another step to promote safe e-Bike charging and will allow landlords and tenants to apply to install e-Bike battery charging stations on sidewalks. Why do this? Outdoor charging cabinets get lithium-ion batteries out of the house, lowering the risk of accidental fires in residential buildings. It’s a problem that the city has been battling because of the recent influx of low-quality batteries powering many of the city’s e-Bike riders and delivery workers.
In this article, I’ll explain how NYC became a national hotspot for lithium-ion battery incidents and the latest news to help make the Big Apple safer for everyone.
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The city where e-Bikes never sleep
New York City has been experiencing a bit of a bicycle renaissance recently, investing in infrastructure, bike lanes, and reducing car traffic. Just this month, the city introduced congestion pricing to disincentivize driving and subsidize public transit— and this gives biking a boost, too. And Upway has seen these changes up close at our UpCenter headquarters in Brooklyn!
This jump in bike usage has also witnessed an uptick in e-Bike ownership, coinciding with more accessible e-Bike pricing as technology advances and growing demand for food delivery services (often completed via e-Bike in the city). The sticking point, however, is the increase in low-quality and uncertified electric bikes and lithium-ion batteries in the city.
Low-cost e-Bike specialist stores popped up all across the city (these aren’t your local bike shops) and some peddle poor-quality electronics that have a higher risk of malfunctioning and starting dangerous fires. Nowadays, you can order e-Bikes and batteries from anywhere online in the world as well. These unregulated products and the high density of battery use have caused disproportionately high rates of fires and deaths related to lithium-ion batteries in New York City, compared to the rest of the country.
UL Solutions (the same organization that certifies e-Bike batteries) has kept track of these stats through its Lithium-ion Battery Incident Reporting. In 2023, there were 42 lithium-ion battery-related deaths in the US and 18 of those fatalities (nearly half) occurred in New York City. Those are seriously tragic numbers and the disparity has long been on the City’s radar. NYC started education campaigns and other policies, and the number of annual deaths fell to six in 2024.
Note: These fires and incidents mostly occur because of low-quality batteries and chargers. Certified products are safe to use and have many fail-safes and measures against malfunction. Nonregulated products come from brands you’ve never even heard of before, if they even are real brands rather than big overseas factories. Upway only sells certified electric bikes from high-quality brands, including UL-certified models.
Browse Upway’s safest UL-certified electric bikes:
NYC sidewalk e-Bike charging stations
One key policy is the launch of battery charging cabinets on some NYC sidewalks. The city already launched the pilot program last year, encouraging participating delivery riders to use the stations to charge and swap out batteries. This lowers the incidence of indoor battery charging which can start residential fires. The e-Bike batteries in the cabinets are also certified, high-quality batteries.
The NYC Department of Transportation reported, “Initial results from the pilot program showed strong participation levels amongst registered delivery workers and a reduction, and some elimination, of home charging.” Seems like a win-win for delivery riders who keep our city running and residents across the city.
Now residents can apply for outdoor charging stations
The pilot program was aimed at delivery riders, but the City has expanded the safe charging initiation to allow landlords and tenants to apply for charging stations, too. This opens the door for regular e-Bike users to have the option to charge their e-Bike batteries outside of their home if they wish, or participate in the battery swap programs to ensure they never run out of charge.
Even for e-Bike owners with perfectly safe UL-certified batteries, bringing your bike inside to charge (or even just the heavy battery) can be a hassle— we all know the struggle of a New York City walk-up. It’s likely that these cabinets will be run by private companies (like Popwheels who was involved in the pilot program) and will embrace the swap model. Landlords can apply to have one of these cabinets near their building, which would be an attractive option for residents. Riders would pay a fee to use and swap out the batteries at their convenience, but I guess the batteries would only fit on certain electric bike models.
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Key Take Aways
- Safer Charging Initiatives: NYC is tackling e-Bike battery fire risks with outdoor charging stations, reducing indoor charging hazards.
- Expanded Access: Tall riders may struggle with folding e-Bikes, and a compact non-folding e-Bike might be a better option for some.
- Proven Results: Pilot programs for delivery riders showed reduced fire risks and strong participation, driving safer e-Bike practices citywide.
