NYC’s Proposed Speed Limit on E-Bikes is a Threat to Street Safety

Written by: Maxime Renson | August 12, 2025 | Time to read 3 min

A proposed rule would limit e-bike speeds to 15 mph in New York City, making streets less safe while ignoring the real obstacle to traffic safety.

More about the Author: Maxime Renson, General Manager at Upway

Graduated in engineering and business, I spent 6+ years at Uber across six countries before joining Upway’s founding team in 2022 to launch the U.S. business. Outside work, I bike, run, play golf and padel, and swim with my son.

Electric bikes have become an integral part of NYC’s transportation ecosystem, allowing tens of thousands of riders to get where they need to go reliably, affordably, and with no carbon footprint. That may soon change, however, as the Mayor’s office has taken steps to suppress micromobility activity by proposing a 15 mph cap on e-bike speeds—a rule that may undermine the very safety goals it seeks to achieve and distract from addressing the real safety threat: cars.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why a one-size-fits-all speed limit puts cyclists at risk

Targeting the wrong problems

A better path forward

Why a one-size-fits-all speed limit puts cyclists at risk

The reality of cycling in New York presents unique challenges that a blanket speed limit fails to address. Because a majority of streets lack protected bike lanes, cyclists must navigate complex traffic patterns, sudden obstacles, and constantly changing conditions. On streets where trucks, buses, cars, and pedestrians are all competing for space, a cyclist’s ability to accelerate when needed—whether to merge safely with traffic, avoid a suddenly opened car door, or quickly clear an intersection—can be the difference between a safe journey and a dangerous encounter.

When cyclists can maintain pace with the flow of traffic, they avoid creating dangerous speed differentials that can lead to conflicts. A rigid 15 mph cap could leave cyclists unable to react appropriately to the dynamic conditions they face daily, creating situations where other road users become impatient or make poor decisions around cyclists. And at the end of the day, if we’re not capping the speed of cars at 15 mph, then why are we doing so for e-bikes?

Rider on Cannondale Topstone gravel electric bike on NYC street

Targeting the wrong problems

Perhaps most troubling is that this proposed rule misdiagnoses the real safety threat on New York’s streets. Rather than focusing enforcement on drivers—who are involved in nearly 90% of pedestrian fatality cases—the city is targeting people who use a safer, lightweight mode of transportation that poses very little threat to pedestrians.

Like the recent decision to issue a criminal summons for cyclists who run a red light, while motorists only pay a fine, the proposed speed cap is disproportionate to the risks posed by e-bikes. Instead, real traffic safety improvements involve elevated and consistent enforcement of dangerous drivers and investment in safety training and infrastructure for cyclists.

The city should focus on proven safety interventions such as protected bike lane expansion, which create safe spaces for cyclists while allowing them to travel at reasonable speeds. Implementing shared streets, low-emission zones, and traffic-calming treatments all offer a more comprehensive approach to safety than an arbitrary speed limit.

A better path forward

Examples of successful street design already exist within the city. University Place in Manhattan includes features that encourage riders to move slowly and yield to pedestrians while maintaining safety. Design elements, such as raised crosswalks, encourage all street users to slow down and have proven effective at keeping pedestrians safe. These infrastructure solutions address safety holistically rather than singling out one group of road users.

In addition to improving infrastructure, we must encourage all micromobility riders to know the rules of the road and obey existing traffic laws, such as yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks. City leaders should leverage the help of delivery apps, bicycle manufacturers, and retailers across New York to communicate the importance of safe riding practices and ensure riders are equipped with the knowledge to ride safely and predictably. Meanwhile, instead of issuing criminal summonses for a first infraction, law enforcement should take practical action and connect riders with educational courses and resources.

The path to safer streets runs not through punitive measures, but through smart design, education, and collaboration. Let’s stop penalizing progress and start building a city where safe, sustainable mobility is for everyone.