What you should know
- Administration Takes Action in Response to Community Concerns and Continues Efforts to Make Streets Safer for All New Yorkers
- City Will Prioritize Education Before Enforcement and Conduct Outreach to E-bike Riders
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams today encouraged e-bike and other e-mobility device users to slow down when riding on city streets as a new 15 mile-per-hour (MPH) speed limit for e-bikes takes effect citywide. First announced earlier this year, the Adams administration submitted a final rule in the City Record last month that sets the new speed limit for e-bikes, e-scooters, and pedal-assist commercial bicycles to match the same speed limit that currently applies to stand-up e-scooters. The new rule mirrors best practices for e-bike speeds in many other parts of the world, including the European Union, which has implemented speed restrictions for e-bikes of 25 kilometers-per-hour (approximately 15 MPH) in bike lanes.
“Under our administration, New York City is leading the nation in keeping our streets safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike, and I am proud that our work has led to traffic fatalities dropping to some of the lowest levels in New York City history,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Our administration has always been one that listens to communities and takes action based on those needs, and, time and again, we have heard New Yorkers from across the five boroughs share their concerns about e-bikes speeding recklessly through our streets. Today, I am thrilled to be delivering for communities across our city by lowering the speed limit for e-bikes to 15 MPH. Lowering the speed limit will protect e-bike riders, pedestrians, and everyone who shares our streets. As New Yorkers adjust to this new law, our focus will be on education first and enforcement second — this includes installing new signage in key cycling corridors and issuing warnings to first time offenders. To be clear, this isn’t about criminalization; it’s about creating safer, fairer conditions for all New Yorkers.”
Overall, traffic fatalities are down significantly in 2025; through the first three quarters, traffic deaths declined by 18 percent compared to the same period last year. Lowering the speed limit will further this progress by protecting e-bike riders, pedestrians, and all who share New York City’s streets.
The city will be focusing on education before enforcement to help New Yorkers adapt to the new rule, including by installing new signage in key cycling corridors and issuing warnings to first-time offenders. The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are also conducting on-the-ground outreach to raise awareness among e-bike riders. Additionally, this outreach includes safety messaging deployed on LinkNYC kiosks across the city and push notifications via NotifyNYC by email and text — translated into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Urdu, French, Polish, Italian, and Yiddish. Furthermore, educational materials are being provided to major app and delivery worker organizations to ensure delivery workers are informed of the change.
As cyclists adjust to the new speed limit, the NYPD will issue warnings to cyclists who exceed the speed limit, utilize the 15 MPH rule as a secondary violation when witnessing other offenses, and deploy digital speed signs along major bike lanes to deter speeding. The NYPD will continue to monitor collision data to guide where resources are deployed and ensure enforcement focuses on improving safety for all street users.
The Adams administration continues to stand with delivery workers and is exploring additional steps to support cycling growth, including by launching the Department of Sustainable Delivery within the DOT to hold delivery apps accountable and further improve safety for riders and pedestrians. New York City has supported delivery workers in transitioning to safer, certified bikes and batteries. Through the E-Bike Trade-in Program, over 400 delivery workers have received free certified e-bikes and batteries in exchange for illegal or unsafe vehicles. Since the start of the Adams administration, the city has focused on removing illegal vehicles from city streets — with the NYPD seizing more than 120,000 illegal motorized vehicles and ghost cars — a major effort directly tied to making the city’s streets safer for everyone.
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