Applications for E-Bike Trade-In Program for Food Delivery Workers Now Open

Photo Courtesy of NYCDOT

Eligible Applicants Will Receive a New UL-Certified E-Bike and Additional UL-Certified Battery

Trade-In Program Will Enhance Public Safety by Replacing Hazardous Batteries and Devices

Applications are now open for New York City’s e-bike trade-in program for food delivery workers, the first-ever municipal program of its kind. Eligible food delivery workers will be able to trade in an uncertified electric bicycle (e-bike) or non-street legal moped for a safer UL-certified e-bike and UL-certified spare battery at no cost. The program will help reduce the risk of deadly e-battery fires, often caused by uncertified equipment, and enhance street safety by getting faster and heavier illegal mopeds off our streets.

The e-bikes provided will be UL-certified, the global standard for e-bike quality and fire safety.

Non-UL certified batteries are more likely to catch fire, and when they do, these types of fires spread rapidly, generate intense heat, and are challenging to extinguish.

The application materials are available in English, Spanish, French, Bengali, and Chinese. Applications will be open online from January 27, 2025, to February 17, 2025. During the three-week application period, eligible applicants will be able to receive application support services to help them fill out application forms. For more information on the location and hours of these free technical support clinics, visit the application portal. To receive the e-bike and spare battery, selected participants will have to complete an online safety training course to ensure e-bike users maintain safe riding practices for themselves, for pedestrians, and for other road users.

Who Qualifies?

If selected, an eligible applicant will receive one trade-in e-bike with a spare battery from the City of New York at no cost. To be eligible, applicants must:

• be a current New York City Resident;
• be at least 18 years of age;
• have earned at least $1,500 in 2024 as a food delivery worker at a food service establishment, a third-party food delivery service, or a third-party courier service;
• own an eligible device in operable condition. 

Currently, many delivery workers use uncertified e-bikes and heavier electric and gas-powered mopeds, some of which cannot be registered with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles because they do not have a Vehicle Identification Number. Accepting these uncertified and illegal devices in exchange for UL-certified e-bikes and batteries will reduce fire and crash risk while helping participants comply with local and state law.

The program is one of several NYC DOT initiatives to improve e-bike access and foster the growing use of legal e-micromobility options. The agency is working to install wider bike lanes along its busiest routes, expand public e-bike charging options for riders, and educate the public and delivery workers about safe and legal e-bike use.

Charge Safe, Ride Safe.

In addition to the e-bike trade-in program, Mayor Adams’ Charge Safe, Ride Safe Action Plan is focused on building a safe, welcoming environment for e-bike riders citywide. To promote the safe use of e-bikes and reduce risk of deadly e-bike fires, often caused by uncertified batteries, NYC DOT will soon allow property owners and tenants to seek approval to install electric micromobility device battery swapping and charging cabinets on sidewalks within the public right-of-way in front of their properties.

NYC DOT has partnered with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to implement a public e-bike charging program at approximately 173 locations near 53 public housing developments. This work will be funded by a $25 million federal RAISE grant previously awarded to NYCHA. NYC DOT will administer the grant and oversee program, with charging infrastructure sited on public sidewalks, where they will be publicly available to NYCHA residents and the general public.

Additionally, the FDNY launched a $1 million public education and awareness campaign this summer on the dangers of unsafe lithium-ion batteries, following data showing that 59 percent of 2023’s lithium-ion battery fires started when those batteries were not charging.