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The
city will also create a shared electric scooter pilot program
that will allow e-scooter companies to apply for permits to
operate in the city, with the exception of Manhattan.
E-scooter companies have long complained about not being allowed
to operate in the largest U.S. city, with more than eight
million residents, while permitted in dozens of other U.S.
cities.
The pilot program is scheduled to start by May 2021 and is
expected to last no more than two years, according to the bill.
Scooter placement should focus on areas underserved by the
city's docked bike-share program, Citi Bike, which is operated
by Lyft Inc.
Electric scooter companies Lime, Bird, Lyft and Ford Motors Co's-owned
Spin have said they would apply for permits.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in January approved the
legalization of electric bicycles and scooters across the state,
but excluded the Manhattan island from any shared, app-based
scooter programs.
Under the city bill, bikes with electric motors can travel at up
to 25 mph (40 km/h), and e-scooters at up to 20 mph (30 km/h).
The debate over electric bicycles heated up in recent years when
city police issued fines and impounded bikes of delivery
workers, who rely on the vehicles to deliver food orders quickly
to New Yorkers in all weather.
Corey Johnson, a NYC Council speaker who supported the bill, in
a tweet on Thursday said the new bill delivered justice to those
delivery drivers who kept the city running during the
coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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