Trying to get around in the hustling bustling city can be a huge inconvenience especially when you just need to get from point A to point B so you started asking are electric kick scooters legal in NYC? Hold on a minute with that question.

Electric scooters in the city are a huge subject for debate, and like everything else it can be more complicated than you initially think. We’re here to take that foggy legal question and ahead some light onto it. First of all, what even is an electric scooter?

 

What is Deemed an Electric Scooter?

You’ve seen them before even if you don’t think you have. They look just like a push scooter with a handle to hold onto and everything, but these scooters have much more power behind them. They are automated with a small but strong motor allowing you to scoot around without kicking off.

Motorized scooters can go at an impressive speed and can be wonderful if you’re looking for a quick and easy form of transportation. Now that you have a clearer view were going to answer the question of are electric kick scooters legal in NYC.

 

Electric Scooters in NYC

Back in 2004 electric scooter a of all kinds, with or without a kickstand, were deemed illegal in NYC. Though there has been a lot of talk about if electric scooters are going to return to the city, there is rarely a glimpse of home on the subject.

If you’re caught using an electric scooter you could even have to deal with a legal fine of 500 dollars which is pretty steep for riding around a scooter. Lets reiterate, every single time you’re caught you can be fined up to 500 dollars.

If you’re caught on your way to and from work five days a week that’s a 7000-dollar bill, which is not worth it. So, to give a definitive answer for the question are electric kick scooters legal in NYC, no they are very illegal, you can get in some trouble if you decide to break those laws.

 

Why Are They Illegal

It’s not terribly clear why they are illegal, but we know why they’re staying that way. There is a bill currently sitting on the governor’s desk that would give electric scooters back to NYC but it’s been there a long time and he hasn’t signed sit.

Overall Gov. Cuomo has serious safety concerns involving accidents and traffic with the scooters along with some other very valid concerns that likely lent to making the scooters illegal in the first place. These fears are for the safety of citizens in the city all around, which is valid, people didn’t have much regulation in the way of electric scooters in 2004.

With the right legislation and the right approach electric scooters in NYC might actually be possible. Until that legislation is drafted and the issues of safety, he sees are addressed unfortunately all of Manhattan will be without legal electric scooters.

Once legislation passes and is signed off by Cuomo though electric scooters can be returned, until then there is little anyone can do about the illegality of electric scooters. Of your win NYC with an electric scooter, you can put it away and hope laws will change, or you can sell it.

One thing you can’t do is ride it in Manhattan without getting stopped by police, getting a ticket and a fine, and potentially much more. Though nonelectric scooters do seem to be legal in NYC if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to navigate the city without having to pay a lot out of pocket for cab or bus fares.

 

What Qualifies As An Electric Scooter

Any motorized scooter really, the law covers a lot of ins and outs, there aren’t really any legal loopholes that you could jump through to get and keep a scooter without fines. The bright side? People have been trying to get motorized scooters back in the city, and some people are optimistic about the possibility of potentially getting scooters back in their city.

If it’s a small motorized scooter of any kind, even a Vespa, it’s illegal in NYC and there isn’t much anyone can do about that unless electric scooters make a come back, so which is highly unlikely considering the issues with safety the city seems to have had in the past.

 

What If Scooters Come Back?

If electrical scooters are allowed to return to NYC anytime soon expect there to be a lot of rules to follow. They banned them for a reason, and you should expect that those who put the law in place wouldn’t be too happy about it being torn down.

If electronic scooters ever return you can expect that there will be plenty of parking laws to follow and hefty fines relates to breaking those laws at a minimum, then add in the potential for liability in the case of an accident and many more laws.

Regardless of the laws that would need to be changed none of his will probably happen anytime soon. NYC really dislikes electric scooters; they can be difficult to manage in mass amounts and people do like them a lot.

 

So No Scooters?

Unfortunately, no, if you’re asking are electric kick scooters legal in NYC you aren’t going to be happy. No electronic scooters are allowed in NYC the state is full of them in smaller cities, but Manhattan is far too big with far too many complications related to allowing electric scooters without a serious overhaul of the laws relates to that scooter usage.

So no, you can’t have an electronic scooter of any kind in NYC, but here are plenty of ways to get to where you need to go and while we use alternative methods, we can wait for the scooter debate to come back to NYC.

With or without electric scooters NYC can be a wonderful and bustling metropolis if you just know where to look. Thankfully there are plenty of transportation options to use while we’re waiting to see if we’ll be able to get our electric scooters back.