New York Seeks to Ban Sale of Used E-Bike Batteries
Mar 19, 2024
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NY State Assembly passed bill that would require used e-bikes be sold with UL-certified batteries.
In their ongoing quest to cut down on the number of fires caused by faulty e-mobility devices, the NY State Assembly has passed a bill that would prohibit the sale of an e-bike unless it is equipped with a UL-certified battery.
Should the bill (A.4389C) be signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, sales of used e-bikes could be expected to all but halt. Owners of e-bikes—even those from reputable manufacturers—would be forced to replace the battery in order to sell it. If the e-bike manufacturer has yet to offer a UL-certified replacement, then they would be prohibited from selling the e-bike in the state.
Some Assembly members voted against the bill. Assemblyman Andrew Goodell (R—Jamestown) noted that there are 65,000 e-bikes being used for deliveries in New York City and most of those batteries would need to be replaced to sell those e-bikes.
Should someone be found to be selling an e-bike with an uncertified battery, they would be fined $500—roughly the cost of a new battery. Should they repeat the violation within two years, the fine would jump to $1000.
The Assembly has also passed a bill (A.6811) that would require the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) to create a program that would provide new UL-certified e-bike batteries to current e-bike owners whose e-bikes lack a UL-certified battery. The program would provide the new batteries at no cost or at a reduced cost.
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Should Governor Hochul sign into law both A.4389C, which would prevent the sale of e-bikes with uncertified batteries, and A.6811, which would subsidize replacement batteries, this would make great inroads in safety for e-bike owners.
The question becomes, “Will this actually reduce the number of e-bike fires in New York?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. Based on Electric Bike Report’s research, the fires being attributed to e-bikes have been caused by e-mobility devices such as e-mopeds and e-scooters. We can’t say definitively that an e-bike has never cause a fire in New York, but in every instance where we’ve been able to examine photos of the aftermath of a fire, the device in question was not an e-bike. Replacing every e-bike battery in New York would not have prevented the fires we’ve studied.
New York could pass the requirement to replace e-bike batteries but fail to approve the program to subsidize replacement batteries. If that happens, we can expect the used e-bike markets in New Jersey and Connecticut to suffer a glut of used e-bikes for sale.
Our hope is that the language of both A.4389.C and A.6811 receives tweaks to include the full range of e-mobility devices, particularly e-mopeds and e-scooters. Should they do that, they will have taken a real step toward consumer safety, rather than a symbolic one.
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