NYC Bans Revel Mopeds On Queensboro Bridge Over 'Safety Concerns'

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Electric moped riders using Revel scooters can no longer travel from Long Island City to the Upper East Side on the Queensboro Bridge.

On Friday, Revel told users that it was instructed by the city’s Department of Transportation to close moped access on the Manhattan and Queensboro bridges, reversing a policy instituted less than two months ago, which allowed riders with 25 miles of moped experience to cross the two bridges.

The Department of Transportation cited “safety concerns” as the reason why they put the brakes on moped usage on both spans.

“The speed limit on these two spans is 35 mph, traffic sometimes moves faster, and there are no shoulders on the spans,” agency spokesman Brian Zumhagen told several outlets in a statement.

“As a Revel moped cannot travel faster than 28 mph, there is a risk for crashes with faster-moving cars,” he said, adding that some Revel drivers use the bike and pedestrian paths to avoid cars, posing a “serious safety risk” to people crossing the spans on foot or bike.

For Revel, the risk of crashes is not hypothetical. Last summer, after two riders died on Revel scooters in the span of 10 days, the DOT shut down the company’s service for a month, after which Revel returned its vehicles to the road with new safety protocols.

While the East River bridge crossings are closed for now, Revel said it hopes to “continue the dialogue around bridge access” with city officials.

In Queens, transportation activists have long-discussed the possibility of turning the Queensboro Bridge’s southernmost lane into a two-wheeled vehicle lane, including bikes and scooters, though the DOT told the Queens Chronicle it wouldn’t be able to even consider that idea until the fall of next year.

In the meantime, 14 other bridges in New York City remain open to Revel moped drivers, including the Cross Bay Boulevard, Pulaski, Roosevelt Island, Greenpoint Avenue, and Grand St bridges, which connect to parts of Queens.