New York and ebikes – it’s a touchy subject at the moment. Last year, the New York Fire Department recorded almost 200 fires in which the batteries of ebikes or e-scooters were considered to be the trigger. Several people died, including children. In New York City Council, representatives are trying to get the situation under control with new laws. Some would like to ban ebikes from the streets completely until further notice.
Number of fires rises rapidly
Given the seriousness of the situation, there is a tense atmosphere in the corridors of City Hall. Members of different committees have put forward proposals on what measures can be taken to prevent further fire calls and, above all, further deaths. As is so often the case, there are different views on what is best to do. However, everyone agrees that something must be done. In 2022, the New York Fire Department went out a total of 216 times to extinguish a fire related to lithium-ion batteries. Exactly 147 people were injured. Six people lost their lives.
The numbers alone are concerning. Even more worrying, however, is the trend behind them. For in 2021, the statistics were at a much lower level, with 104 fires, 79 injuries and four deaths. If one goes back to 2020, the fire occurrence of that time with 44 fires, 23 injuries and no deaths hardly seems to have anything to do with the current figures. The year 2020 is so relevant as a comparative value because in that year riding ebikes was made legal in New York.
Will certification be mandatory for ebike batteries in the future?
When it comes to possible solutions, the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management at City Hall plays a central role. This is where those who deal with firefighting and focus on fire prevention sit. Members of this committee have made several suggestions on how the current administrative law should be changed.
Joann Ariola chairs the committee. She supports a proposal marked Int 0663-2022, which officially has the most advocates so far. It wants to ban the sale of batteries for means of transport such as ebikes or e-scooters unless these batteries are listed and labelled by a nationally recognised testing laboratory or another approved organisation. Those who do not comply with the law will face a civil penalty. This could range anywhere from a warning for a first offence to a fine of a maximum of US$1,000 if the law is flouted again within the next two years.
New York City Council member Joann Ariola © Official NYC Council Photo by John McCarten
Rigorous ban on ebikes debated
Less support is currently being given to the proposal with the registration number Int 0883-2023. The initiator is the council member Robert F. Holden. He would like to have parts of the administrative law repealed that so far allow riding certain ebikes and e-scooters in New York City. Violators face a fine of US$500. The bill aims to ban ebikes from traffic until there is a clear regulation on how to handle the batteries. In Holden’s opinion, the legalisation of ebikes in 2020 was implemented haphazardly and hastily.
New York City Council member Robert F. Holden © Official NYC Council Photo
Other members in the town hall do not want to go that far. They have rather identified an information deficit. Therefore, in Int 0656-2022, which she submitted, council member Gale A. Brewer proposes that the New York Fire Department launch an education campaign about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries. Her second proposal, Int 0752-2022, targets the market for used batteries. It is proposed that second-hand markets should no longer be able to sell batteries that have been “reconditioned or otherwise manipulated”.
New York City Council member Gale A. Brewer © Official NYC Council Photo by John McCarten
The New York City Fire Department has taken a position on the draft legislation even before it is finally discussed. In principle, it agrees with the proposals, the authority is quoted as saying on the online portal “Bicycle Retailer and Industry News”.
Parking of ebikes in rental houses prohibited
Some property management companies in New York, on the other hand, are making a clear early start. Although not a single resolution has yet been passed, they are already sending letters to tenants demanding the immediate removal of ebikes from the building. If an ebike parked without permission causes a fire, the tenants or their visitors would be fully responsible. There is no legal basis for such threats. The letters sometimes lump together all electrical appliances with lithium-ion batteries. However, they do illustrate how tense the situation in the city currently is.
Example of letters from property management companies to tenants in New York prohibiting the parking of ebikes in the house and on the property
Moreover, they point out, albeit rather unintentionally, a detail that is often neglected in the course of the discussions. Statements by both the New York Fire Department and various media indicate that many fires are not caused by ebike batteries. Instead, they are usually caused by outdated, self-built or remanufactured batteries that are more commonly used on e-scooters.
Currently no mandatory regulations
Nevertheless, the bicycle community in the USA has been on alert for a long time. If people are injured or even die because ebike batteries may not provide sufficient safety in daily use, this has the potential to bring an entire movement like the ebike boom to a halt. Accordingly, there have been intensive efforts to engage with stakeholders in New York but also with federal authorities.
Among the latter is the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, in short USCPSC or CPSC. As an independent agency of the US government, the CPSC assesses how safe certain consumer products are and develops uniform safety standards to go with them. Some of these are regulations and must be complied with – others are no more than recommendations or voluntary commitments.
The CPSC also has third parties develop corresponding standards. In the case of batteries for ebikes and e-scooters, the company Underwriters Laboratories, UL for short, has done this. These standards can be recognised by the abbreviation “UL” with which they begin. In the case of the fires caused by rechargeable batteries in New York, the CPSC can imagine linking the use of rechargeable batteries to suitable standards in the future. However, several of these come into question. And depending on their interests, those involved in the bicycle industry also have their favourites.
Company building of the US company Underwriters Laboratories at its headquarters in Northbrook
Disagreement within the bicycle community
For example, PeopleForBikes, an association of members of the bicycle industry, the retail trade and cyclists, advocates UL 2271, a rather narrowly defined standard that only applies to batteries for Light Electric Vehicles (LEV), which also include ebikes. The standard would allow bicycle manufacturers to test a battery once and apply the result to all batteries of the same type.
In contrast, the UL 2849 standard requires each ebike to be tested individually in each configuration. This is much more expensive and takes much more time. That is why PeopleForBikes does not consider this standard to be the best choice. Especially since it does not include batteries for retrofitting.
On the other hand, UL 2849 gives dealers more credibility vis-à-vis customers, argues the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA), the largest bicycle-only trade association in the USA. After all, the standard applies to the entire ebike system, including motor, control unit and display. Last summer, Bosch actively called on all ebike suppliers in the USA to adopt UL 2849.
As president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, Heather Mason favours mandatory UL 2849 certification.
Outcome of the discussions open
PeopleForBikes is also quite fond of UL 2849 and considers an application in the long term to be absolutely conceivable. In the short term, however, UL 2271 would be the better solution. After all, both standards are available. At the moment, ebike manufacturers or other companies can sell ebikes as well as batteries without their products complying with either one.
It is not yet foreseeable whether, and if so, which standard will perhaps have to be met in the future in New York or other places as a prerequisite for riding an ebike in the USA. Until a decision is made, those who already own an ebike will have to endure uncertainty as well as those who are just considering buying one.
Pictures: NYC Council; UL LLC; PeopleForBikes; NBDA
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