Mayor Mamdani last week ordered an end to the city’s policy of issuing criminal summonses to e-bike operators caught on alleged traffic violations.
Beginning March 27, the NYPD will begin addressing such violations with civil summonses, just like those for motorists — except that riders need no license and e-bikes are not registered.
“Every New Yorker on our roads, whether driving or biking, deserves to be treated fairly,” Mamdani said in a press release. “By ending criminal summonses for low-level traffic offenses, we’re ensuring cyclists and e-bike riders — including those who deliver our food and groceries — are treated like others on the road.”
“At the same time, we’re making our streets safer for everyone. In partnership with the City Council, we’ll strengthen safety standards, hold app companies accountable and expand training for delivery riders,” the mayor added.
The criminal summons policy was enacted under Mayor Eric Adams in 2025. Riders could be criminally charged for minor violations such as disobeying a stop sign — forcing them to appear in criminal court, with failure to appear risking a bench warrant or arrest.
Mamdani’s office last week called it a punitive system that has disproportionately burdened working New Yorkers.
The mayor said the city’s Department of Transportation will launch a comprehensive safety training program for delivery workers. Mamdani said he wants to work with the City Council on legislation to address unsafe practices by delivery app companies that he says often incentivize dangerous riding through unrealistic delivery times.
Mamdani’s office also said it will seek authority to mandate enhanced training for delivery workers who repeatedly engage in unsafe riding behavior.
The city will launch an enhanced safety training program in April for all bicycle and e-bike delivery workers. The program will be accessible online through secure accounts and available in six languages.
It is slated to cover workers’ rights and responsibilities, safe e-bike and bicycle operation and traffic laws. The DOT will oversee compliance and implement the program in partnership with delivery worker advocates to ensure that trainings are completed and workers’ rights are protected in the process.
The NYPD told the Chronicle police will comply with the new directive.
But Commissioner Jessica Tisch, in an op-ed written for the New York Post last year said the criminal summonses were the only way to hold reckless riders accountable.
Tisch wrote that unlike bike riders, drivers have an incentive to appear for a civil summons because they can face fines, suspension or loss of their licenses and more if the fail to show up.
She wrote that e-bike operators do not need licenses “so their operators can simply ignore a traffic summons with virtually no meaningful repercussions.”
Mamdani’s office did not respond to request for comment on the points made by Tisch last year.
Most of the city officials quoted in the mayor’s statement joined him in placing the onus on delivery app companies.
“For too long, third-party delivery companies have incentivized dangerous cycling behavior without proper oversight or accountability,” Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said. “To truly deliver safe streets for all New Yorkers, we will be taking a multipronged approach that holds delivery companies accountable for their impact on street safety, provides training and resources to delivery workers and expands bold new street designs that better accommodate e-bike riders and pedestrians.”
