New York City couriers wary of mayor’s proposed new regulatory agency

Delivery workers say app algorithms create incentives to deliver faster without regard for traffic rules. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

A proposed agency to regulate new forms of ebikes and mopeds commonly used by delivery drivers could lead to increased surveillance and harassment of couriers, according to labor and transit advocates.

Last week, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, announced plans for a first-in-the-nation department of sustainable delivery that would aim to regulate the tens of thousands of ebikes, mopeds, cargo bikes and other two- and three-wheeled vehicles that deliver food and parcels across the city.