NEW YORK — New York City officials say shops and meals delivery firms will have to do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe e-bike and e-scooter batteries, after a hearth blamed on an electrical scooter’s lithium ion battery killed 3 other folks over the weekend.
“There is blood on the hands of this private industry,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh stated at a news convention Monday in entrance of the charred stays of the Brooklyn row area the place the early Sunday blaze killed Albertha West, 81, her son Michael West, 58, and her grandson Jamiyl West, 33.
Fire officials stated the fireplace broke out at the flooring flooring of the development. “It’s extensively damaged,” Kavanagh stated, including that the battery that sparked the fireplace used to be for a “scooter of some kind.”
The town has observed masses of fires related to the lithium ion batteries that energy electrical motorcycles and scooters in the previous couple of years. City officials have blamed off-market batteries and chargers that do not meet safety requirements for most of the fires, and they’ve lobbied the government to toughen rules governing the sale of e-bikes and batteries.
But Kavanagh stated firms actually have a position to play too.
“Retailers like Amazon and Walmart need to stop selling devices that are not safety certified by a national testing laboratory, and food service apps like Grubhub and Uber Eats need to do more to ensure the safety of their workers who depend on these bikes to make a living,” she stated.
City officials have not stated whether or not the battery that led to Sunday’s fireplace got here from a automobile used to make deliveries for one of the vital meals provider apps, and they did not straight away reply to a Tuesday electronic mail searching for additional information.
Tens of 1000’s of town’s meals delivery employees depend on e-bikes to get dinner to shoppers briefly, and Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi singled out the delivery business all the way through remarks at a City Hall news convention Tuesday, noting that point is cash for delivery employees.
“They’re paid to deliver and speed is rewarded,” Joshi stated. “And speed means oftentimes they take risky moves like using uncertified batteries and bikes and chargers, or changing the mechanics of the bike so that they go faster so that they can make more money.”
Joshi stated New Yorkers must ask “what is the role of the apps in this? What is their responsibility to make sure that the workers that they profit from have safe equipment without having to pay for it themselves?”
Josh Gold, a spokesperson for Uber, stated on-line shops must prevent promoting units that have not been qualified via UL, an organization that conducts product safety checking out on electronics. “In March, Uber called for the City to implement a small fee on all food deliveries to help transition this industry to UL certified bikes,” he stated in a commentary.
Grubhub spokesperson Patrick Burke stated, “We’ve repeatedly called on New York City and the U.S. Congress to provide safe charging hubs for delivery partners, to establish a product safety standard for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and to address concerns related to illegal, unregulated charging devices widely available for purchase through online retailers.”
Walmart officials stated in a commentary, “Walmart has zero tolerance for fraudulent sellers or the sale of products with false claims. Like our customers, we expect sellers and suppliers to provide accurate and honest descriptions about their products. When we identify a false claim, we take action to protect our customers and maintain their trust.”
Amazon stated in a commentary, “We strive to ensure all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies—including NYC Local Law 39. We ensure our selection meets industry-accepted standards, and we develop innovative tools to prevent the sale of unsafe products.”
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