NYC is installing e-bike charging stations across town

Some NYC sidewalks may look different soon.

According to the New York City Fire Department, faulty e-bike batteries and mismatched chargers can spark fires or even explosions. Since 2019 over 700 fires have been started by e-bikes injuring 450 people and killing 29. This is evidently a massive problem that needs immediate solving and removing e-bikes in their entirety is not an option. 

In response to these fires, Mayor Eric Adams is launching a series of safer practices when it comes to using and charging these vehicles.

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“These e-mobilities vehicles and bikes, they’re not the enemy. Proper use is what we must do,” he said on Monday. “There’s a real market for these bootleg batteries that we want to zero in on. That is our problem. That’s the enemy. A properly-used battery, a properly-charged battery, has the right functionality.’’

To that end, a range of new safety measures will be introduced to combat dangerous e-bike batteries. 

One of the steps is to install safe e-bike battery charging cabinets on sidewalks across the city by next year. Property and business owners can apply for permits to install these charging spots. To speed up these approvals the Department of Transportation will propose rules to accelerate the installation process. Mayor Adams has already launched this Safe Charging Accelerator program. Some cabinets have already been installed as part of a pilot project. There is a virtual hearing on the plan at the end of August. 

On top of these new charging cabinets, officials have announced a $2 million trade-in program where delivery workers could swap out their uncertified batteries for safer ones.

Also, the FDNY has invested $1 million into an awareness campaign to educate users of the dangers of lithium-ion batteries. About $750,000 of this will go to ads both online and on subways and buses, as well as on digital kiosks, newspapers and the radio. This investment sparked after data showed that 59% of lithium-ion battery fires in 2023 occurred while batteries were not charging.

Hopefully, with these new safety measures, NYC will see a significant reduction in e-bike battery fires and injuries.