A 15-mile-per-hour speed limit on e-bikes and e-scooters will take effect in October, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday. Starting October 24, the new rule lowers the speed limit for vehicles from 25 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour, a pledge Adams made in June. It remains unclear how the limit will be enforced and what the possible fines would be for speeding.
“This new 15 miles-per-hour speed limit for e-bikes is about keeping New Yorkers safe while continuing to keep our city moving,” Adams said. “As more New Yorkers turn to e-bikes and e-scooters to get around our city, New Yorkers have asked us to set clear, consistent rules to address this issue and protect everyone.”
So far in 2025, NYC has recorded 623 collisions involving e-bikes, up from 455 during the same period last year, as reported by amNY. Despite the increase, e-bikes still account for a small fraction of citywide crashes, compared with 12,727 collisions involving cars and 3,245 involving traditional bicycles.
Adams first proposed the speed limit during his 2024 State of the City address. In June, the mayor renewed calls for the speed limit and pressured the City Council to act on legislation introduced last year that would create a Department of Sustainable Delivery to regulate delivery apps, which Adams calls the “root cause” of reckless e-bike riding, according to a press release.
The proposed department would grant the city powers similar to those of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, requiring companies like GrubHub and Uber Eats to track delivery workers’ speeds and routes and ensure they follow traffic laws.
The mayor also ordered the NYPD to crack down on cyclists and scooter riders who run red lights or stop signs and ride against traffic or on sidewalks. Officers now issue criminal summonses to cyclists for traffic infractions rather than civil summonses.
As 6sqft previously reported, an Adams administration spokesperson told Gothamist that the mayor has the authority to change the speed limit without the approval of the Council due to a “carveout” for e-bikes and e-scooters. In 2024, the city passed Sammy’s Law, allowing city officials to lower the speed limit for cars from 25 to 20 miles per hour without state approval.
The 15-mile-per-hour speed limit already applies to bike-sharing services such as Citi Bike, which implemented the cap on its e-bikes in June.
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