New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday his administration is launching a new, lithium-ion battery-charging pilot program early in 2024, that will allow an initial group of delivery workers to safely charge their bikes in public. “The pilot will test a variety of technologies to charge e-bike batteries at multiple locations across the city, developed as part of the administration’s “Charge Safe, Ride Safe” plan to protect New Yorkers from fires caused by lithium-ion batteries and promote safe electric-micromobility usage,” Adams team said in a statement. The pilot builds on earlier programs to develop more outside-of-home charging options for New Yorkers, including one that set up “deliverista hubs” in vacant newsstands in partnership with Los Deliveristas Unidos and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The city has a $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant to install 173 outdoor electric-micromobility charging and storage stations at 53 New York City Housing Authority developments. E-bikes and e-scooters have become essential for delivery workers, but bring serious fire risk. There were 253 fires relating to batteries that power electric mobility devices in 2023, up from 30 in 2019.
