De Blasio On E-Bikes: 'Common Sense' Trumps Data

NEW YORK CITY — "Common sense" is better than data when it comes to cracking down on delivery drivers riding e-bikes through New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

“I would like a little more common sense in this equation,” de Blasio said after a crime statistics press conference. "The e-bikes that are illegal are illegal."

De Blasio defended the city's stance on e-bike when asked if any NYPD data showed illegal throttle bikes were more dangerous than legal, and slower, pedal-assist bikes.

The mayor argued he had proof better than data: the evidence of his own eyes.

“They go on sidewalks, they go the wrong way down the street, they go too fast,” de Blasio said of throttle bikers. "I keep coming back with something that is bluntly, in my view, better than data: it is common sense."

Advocates who want to see e-bikes legalized argue throttle bikes ease the challenges of difficult and perilous job that many immigrant New Yorkers rely on pay the bills.

For years, they've been saying no data exists to prove throttle bikes are more dangerous than their legal counterpart. According to a Streetsblog analysis, e-bikes were responsible for 31 of 61,939 pedestrian injuries reported to the NYPD in 2018.

This debate has been churning since the NYPD launched a crackdown on delivery drivers — issuing tickets of up to $500 — in 2017.

A bill that would have legalized e-bikes across New York State was vetoed in December by Gov. Cuomo, who argued the lack of safety provisions rendered the legislation fatally flawed.

De Blasio faced criticism after his assertion that common sense trumped data on the issue.

But, at the press conference the mayor said he wouldn't be apologizing about his position.

"I'm not going to be sorry about something when there's an illegal option that people are using," said de Blasio. "Take one of the legal options that exist."