The Ordinance Targeting Delivery Riders
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn has introduced a new ordinance that would bar delivery app workers from using e-bikes, mopeds, and other motorized scooters to fulfill orders within city limits. The proposal, which has been referred to committee for review, cites a pattern of safety complaints from residents who say motorized delivery vehicles are routinely violating traffic laws across Boston's dense urban core.
"On a near daily basis, city residents have shared how these motorized vehicles, which can travel more than 20 mph, do not obey the rules of the road," Flynn stated in support of the measure. He pointed to a litany of dangerous behaviors including wrong-way riding, sidewalk travel, running red lights, and weaving through traffic at high speeds. The councilor argued that the gig economy's business model is inherently part of the problem, contending that platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash "incentivize low-wage workers to prioritize speed over safety in order to receive more order assignments."
A Blunt Instrument for a Nuanced Problem
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from transportation advocates and gig workers who argue that an outright vehicle ban is a disproportionate response to what is fundamentally a traffic enforcement issue. Critics note that dangerous riding already violates existing traffic laws, and that banning e-bikes for one class of user while permitting them for everyone else creates an inequitable framework that penalizes some of the city's lowest-paid workers.
Delivery riders, many of whom are immigrants and members of low-income communities, frequently cannot afford cars and depend on e-bikes and mopeds as their primary tools for earning a living. Forcing them to deliver on foot or by traditional bicycle would dramatically reduce the number of orders they can complete per hour, cutting into already-thin earnings. Some transportation policy experts have also pointed out the environmental irony: pushing delivery workers toward cars would increase congestion and emissions in a city that has spent years promoting cycling infrastructure and micromobility.
The Broader E-Bike Regulation Landscape
Boston is far from the only city grappling with how to regulate the booming e-bike sector. New York City, which has a far larger delivery workforce, has implemented regulations targeting battery safety standards after a wave of lithium-ion battery fires in 2023 and 2024, but has stopped short of banning e-bikes for specific user groups. San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have focused on speed limit enforcement and geofencing technology as alternatives to outright bans. The European Union has taken a different approach entirely, classifying e-bikes under existing vehicle regulations and requiring insurance for higher-speed models.
The core tension in Boston's debate reflects a nationwide challenge: cities want the economic and environmental benefits of micromobility while struggling to manage the safety externalities. Delivery apps have created a massive new class of commercial riders who operate under intense time pressure, and municipal infrastructure and enforcement have not kept pace with this rapid shift in urban logistics.
What Happens Next
The ordinance now faces committee review, where it will likely be subject to public hearings and input from delivery platforms, worker advocacy groups, and transportation planners. Given the strong opposition from both civil liberties organizations and the gig economy industry, the proposal may be significantly amended before it advances, if it advances at all. The more likely outcome, observers suggest, is that the debate pushes Boston toward a middle-ground approach involving stricter enforcement of existing traffic laws, speed governors on commercial delivery vehicles, and possibly registration requirements for motorized delivery fleets.
