The city is putting the heat on rogue delivery bicyclists, who have been shirking the new commercial cycling rules — issuing nearly 3,000 violations in less than four months, authorities said.
The legislation went into effect at the end of April and since then the Department of Transportation has issued nearly $300,000 in violations to city businesses.
The new guidelines require delivery people to wear reflective vests, helmets, and have their bikes outfitted with a red taillight, white headlight and a bell. Bikes also need to have a sign displaying the restaurant’s name.
Manhattan businesses took in more than 1,800 violations. About 900 of those were handed out on the Upper West Side, according to the DOT.
Brooklyn restaurants were hit with the second-highest number of violations, receiving 608 summonses.
DOT inspectors also issued 297 violations in Queens and 239 in The Bronx.
None have been issued in Staten Island so far.
The first violation is a $100 summons, and repeat offenders face $250 fines.
DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said that safety couldn’t be compromised so that deliveries could be made faster.
“Cutting corners on safety just to make faster bike deliveries shortchanges every New Yorker,” Sadik-Khan said.
In addition to street enforcement, the DOT also made door-to-door inspections to see if businesses were following the new rules and responded to 311 complaints.
Before the bill went into effect in April, the agency visited more than 4,000 businesses citywide to do outreach. Councilwoman Gale Brewer’s office and the DOT also gave out free helmets and vests.
Sadik-Khan added that the agency’s education efforts put equipment in the hands of delivery people and gave “the message to thousands of businesses that safety isn’t optional.”
BLT Burger manager Rob d’Entremont said an inspector visited the West Village restaurant after one bicyclist was missing a license plate to talk to them about the new rules, but no summons was given.
He said he likes the new law, and believes that the vests had boosted morale.
“I think it makes the workers feel more like a part of the company,” he said.
Brewer noted that complaints about delivery people, once the top complaint in her district, have decreased dramatically.
“I see helmets on almost every delivery person now,” she said. “It’s a creative solution.”
Ian Alterman, president of the 20th Precinct Community Council, also said delivery bikers are following the law more: “There has absolutely been an improvement.”
Brewer noted that workers who make deliveries asked her to tell people to be a little more patient when waiting for their food.
“People can be very challenging in terms of ‘I want it yesterday,’ ” she said.