Illegally operated scooters, e-bikes and mopeds are running wild on the streets and sidewalks of New York City — and advocates are urging city lawmakers to do more to hold operators accountable. 

NYC is experiencing a surge in the use of such micromobility vehicles. While this shift towards these low-cost, eco-friendly alternatives to automobiles is welcomed and an important mode of transportation for many people, a growing concern is the number of these e-vehicles operating without proper licensing.

New Yorkers often spot the devices illegally parked or driven on sidewalks. The most egregious offenders, however, might be moped operators, who are subject to state traffic laws.

During a series of walks through various NYC neighborhoods in May, amNewYork spotted over 50 mopeds — also known as limited-use motorcycles — illegally parked, weaving through pedestrians or otherwise operating illegally on city sidewalks. None of them had license plates, which is illegal in the state of New York.

Among the offenses observed:

• 10 mopeds were parked on sidewalks along Queens Boulevard between 62nd and 69th Streets in Woodside, Queens.
• That number pales next to the 26 parked in front of shops and restaurants on Woodside Avenue between 61st and 68th Streets. 
• Meanwhile, parked at the intersection of Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue, five unregistered mopeds swerved through pedestrians on a sidewalk that lines Prospect Park. 
• Seven mopeds were seen operating on sidewalks along Hylan Boulevard, which runs 14 miles north to south on Staten Island. Another five were parked on sidewalks along the busy corridor. 

According to the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), mopeds must be registered and cannot be used on sidewalks. E-bikes, on the other hand, do not require registration but, like mopeds, are not permitted to be driven on sidewalks in NYC, a spokesperson for the DMV told amNewYork.

Although city legislation took effect in January of this year, requiring retailers to register both gas and electric mopeds with the DMV at the point of sale, many still appear to be operating illegally.

“Mayor Adams has been clear that ghost cars and other illegal vehicles are a serious threat to public safety and are often linked to violent crimes, which is why our administration has removed more than 98,000 ghost cars, illegal scooters, mopeds, and ATVs from New York City’s streets,” City Hall spokesperson Allison Maser said. 

City and state officials have reported a significant number of unregistered e-vehicles. In 2024 alone, the NYPD, along with the city’s Sanitation Department, removed 27,000 illegal motorized vehicles from city streets, Mayor Eric Adams’ office said. This number is in addition to the confiscation of 7,500 full-sized “ghost cars” with fake license plates.

Moped registration needed ‘to hold people accountable’

Public safety experts say that while having an unregistered moped seems harmless, it is not a victimless crime. Without registration, it’s difficult to track vehicle owners, making it harder to hold them accountable for traffic violations or collisions, Michael Matos, founder of the personal and organizational safety company, Personal Protective Concepts, said. 

“If there’s a crash and the driver takes off, there’s often no way to identify or locate them,” Matos explained. “That makes it harder to hold people accountable and harder to prevent them from doing it again.”

He added that it is not “just about minor scrapes and scratches” from moped collisions.

“People get seriously hurt, and some drivers disappear without a trace,” he said. 

In fact, according to the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance (EVSA), it is common for moped riders whose vehicles are not registered to flee the scene. Out of 98 crashes involving the group’s members, 94 riders fled the scene.

“Registration is a foundational layer of public safety. It helps ensure there’s some level of accountability on the road, and that matters for everyone,” Matos said. 

Meanwhile, reckless cyclists, e-bikers, and moped riders could now face criminal summonses for traffic violations as part of the NYPD’s new Quality of Life division. City officials said the new division is data-driven and responsive to the most common 311 complaints. 

“Every New Yorker understands how frightening it is to jump out of the way as an e-bike drives on the sidewalk, or to pull their kids back as one barrels through a busy crosswalk,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement to amNewYork that also appeared in a New York Post op-ed. 

An ‘unjust’ policy on criminalizing e-vehicle traffic violations

Whether micromobility vehicles like e-bikes and mopeds are driven on the sidewalk or on the street, many advocates say the NYPD’s new crackdown is “unjust,” as the vehicles provide vital transportation for many workers to do their jobs.

Luis Cortes, director of Los Deliveristas Unido Campaign of the Worker’s Justice Project, calls the policy an “assault” on immigrant workers.

“As a sanctuary city, we cannot allow this appalling assault on our city’s most vulnerable immigrant workers to happen,” he said. “Delivery workers should not have to single-handedly bear the responsibility for our city’s failure to provide transportation safety. As it is, these workers already bear the consequences of this failure, with the highest fatality rate among any occupation in New York City.”

NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera underscored Cortes’ sentiments, saying she is “deeply concerned” about the cyclists and e-bike riders getting criminal court summonses.

“This is a troubling escalation, especially given that under state law, traffic violations are meant to be handled in traffic court, not criminal court, and will continue to be enforced as such for car and truck drivers,” she said. “It raises serious legal and equity concerns, as we know this policy will disproportionately impact immigrants and delivery workers, many of whom already navigate precarious working conditions shaped by the demands of app companies.”

Rivera explained that interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could potentially increase. She argued that delivery app companies should be held more accountable.

“In order to address the real safety challenges on our streets, we must remain focused on proven solutions, like street redesigns, clear and fair regulations for micromobility users, better delivery loading zones, and holding app companies accountable for creating unsafe working conditions,” she said. 

But Tisch said the enforcement is about safety and has nothing to do with deporting immigrants. 

“As always, the NYPD does not inquire about a person’s immigration status and does not cooperate with ICE on civil immigration matters,” she said. 

Safety and lost revenue

Lyn, a cyclist in NYC, knows this all too well. She said she was riding her bicycle on 2nd Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets in Manhattan when an e-vehicle rider slammed into her as she was attempting to park her bike. She described being thrown over the handlebars onto her back and getting pinned by her bike. 

“I couldn’t walk. I was in horrific pain, and the delivery guy ran off,” she said, adding that her injuries included three fractured vertebrae. 

Now, she advocates for more accountability.

“I think it’s very necessary to regulate, to license anyone on an electric vehicle,” she said.