![]() ![]() Suazo, who lives with his family, said he would feel safer with a certified e-bike. After hearing about the fires, he has taken safety precautions with his e-bike, such as setting a timer on his phone to prevent overcharging the battery and unplugging the charger before going to bed. George Suazo, 30, a delivery worker for Uber Eats and Grubhub, said that he decided to trade in his folding Fly Wing e-bike, which he bought for $1,600 last year. In return, they have a choice of three e-bikes, each of which comes with a spare battery: a Tern Quick Haul for $1,900 (nearly $3,800 retail cost) an Aventon Level.2 for $928 (about $2,500) and a Velotric Go 1 for $700 (about $2,300). To apply for the trade-in program from the Equitable Commute Project, delivery workers fill out an online form and confirm that they will bring in their e-bikes. They have the option of trading in an uncertified e-bike for an additional $200 credit, which can be used toward the purchase of a Zoomo e-bike. ![]() They can rent a certified e-bike from $99 a month, or more than half off the regular price of $199, with Uber subsidizing the rental costs for up to a total of $500,000. Uber has also partnered with an electric vehicle company, Zoomo, on a separate discount program for food delivery workers. Instead, Uber and others, including the Equitable Commute Project, have called for a small fee to be added to every food delivery order - which could be paid by customers, food delivery apps or restaurants - to raise money for a fund that would subsidize the cost of e-bike trade-ins for all delivery workers, regardless of who they work for. Many delivery workers and their advocates said the food delivery companies should be the ones responsible for buying the UL-certified e-bikes for their workers, especially since Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub recently sued the city to block minimum pay standards that would have increased workers’ earnings.īut Josh Gold, a spokesman for Uber, said that if Uber simply bought certified e-bikes for only its delivery workers, it would not solve the larger problem of lithium battery fires. “We have an opportunity to intervene here to get those bad batteries off the streets,” he said, “just like we do with gun buyback programs.” The City Council is considering a proposal to create a free, trade-in program for lithium-ion batteries that would be subsidized by the city and could be expanded to e-bikes, said Councilman Keith Powers, who represents Manhattan. The coalition will hold a series of trade-in events at bike shops in September to try to reach more delivery workers. “It’s getting people through the process that’s the challenge,” said Melinda Hanson, a co-founder of the Equitable Commute Project - a coalition of community, education and business groups - which is running the program. Others were not approved because they did not meet the delivery work requirement of at least six months (or could not verify that they did), or they could not come up with the money for the trade-in. But some did not respond when later contacted. More than 200 delivery workers have applied for a trade-in. All three options have been certified to UL 2849, a new safety standard required for any e-bike sold or rented in the city.Įleven more trade-ins are scheduled for September, of which 10 are for the two cheaper options. So two more e-bike options have since been added, for $700 and $928. Many delivery workers said the initial $1,900 price was too high. The logistics of the program also had to be worked out, including how to dispose of unsafe e-bikes and batteries. Some viewed the trade-in with suspicion, questioning whether it was a scam. Review our Help topics or chat with one of our Customer Care advocates.The program - which is being funded with $460,000 from donors, including Uber and DoorDash - has gotten off to a slow start in part because of the e-bike prices but also the challenge of reaching delivery workers, many of whom are immigrants and work illegally or do not speak much English. Visit Home Delivery Subscriptions to learn more about purchasing a subscription to The New York Times newspaper. If there is no print date listed, the article has not yet appeared in the print publication. If you are looking to purchase the print version of an article you saw on, you can check the date it appeared in print by viewing the publication date in the footer of the online article. Please note that the online article date often differs from the date it appears in print. ![]() Note : Print newspaper issues can be purchased by the publication date. ![]() Please note that quantities are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. The New York Times print newspaper is sold in over 34,000 retail outlets, including online at The New York Times Store, where you can purchase issues from the past 90 days, as well as a selection of special sections from the newspaper. ![]()
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