It’s already been quite a week in e-bikes, with Mamdani’s crackdown on illegal units in NYC, Forest’s insurance implementation, plus cargo bike owners having their bikes incorrectly seized on the podcast. But there’s still enough morsels left over, including Swytch updates and more Mamdani, to make for a decent serving of electrified bubble and squeak…
Swytch promises no more order delays, revealing that it now builds e-bike kits in the UK
As we reported in December last year,-bike conversion company Swytch faced a barrage of criticism from customers whose orders hadn’t turned up, but it promised to turn things around with a new CEO and a fresh round of funding. The innovative e-bike conversion kit company has been pretty quiet since then, but a LinkedIn post has outlined how it’s trying to turn things around.
In the post, the company outlined its current plans to put things right for its customers. Despite having a workforce of just 13 people, it switched from building its conversion kits abroad to manufacturing them at a facility in Norwich. Swytch has profusely apologised to disappointed customers and shifted from a pre-order model, where consumers would have to wait for a batch of imported kits to arrive, to a next-day dispatch system.
“We let you down,” the company said in the post. “Customers waited months, even years, for their orders. People couldn’t reach us when they needed help. Distributors walked away. That was unacceptable, and we’re sorry.”
Has it worked? The needle seems to be moving on the company’s Trustpilot page, and most of the one-star reviews are to do with compatibility or manufacturing issues rather than delivery problems — but it still feels as if Swytch has a long way to go.
How Mamdani could make NYC better for micromobility
Zohran Mamdani may have declared war on powerful e-motos, but it’s easy to overlook how proactive the New York Mayor has been in enhancing the city for micromobility: he’s already put the McGuinness Boulevard on a ‘road diet,’ and he’s proposing to cut some of the red tape that gets in the way of new bike lanes.
However, he could be doing more, according to recommendations from the Next Mile Coalition. Led by e-bike sellers Upway and Infinite Machine, this group is keen to entice more people from four wheels to two with public e-bike purchase subsidies, tax benefits for commuting, and a trade-in scheme for illegal e-motos.
“We’re extremely encouraged by this administration’s progress. Expanding protected bike lanes and adding secure parking make riding a real option for all New Yorkers,” Stephane Ficaja, CEO of Upway, told Streetsblog NYC. “We also recognize the safety threat created by illegal e-motos, and hope to support the city to get these off the streets and connect people to certified, high-quality e-bikes.”
First e-biker charged for having no licence or registration under New Jersey’s new draconian laws
All eyes are on New Jersey as its draconian new e-bike licensing laws come into effect — and it’s charged its first felon. According to MorristownGreen, Tayson Y Reyes-Albarado, a 22-year-old Morristown man, was found lying in the road after a solo e-bike crash. He was subsequently transported to hospital where he was treated for road rash and a suspected head injury.
To make matters worse for Reyes-Albarado, he was issued summonses for insurance and licence offences, as well as using a vehicle while his driving privilege was suspended, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
New hire e-bikes for Stowmarket and Ealing
The Suffolk town of Stowmarket has introduced … two hire e-bikes. Stowed (ahem) in a solar-powered pod, the practical ‘fat bikes’ have been supplied by local company Eezybike and can be booked via their website. Possibly not a challenger to Lime, but it’s interesting to see that e-bike hire is seeping into more rural locations.
In case you missed it, e-bike hire operator Forest has introduced a major 900-bike expansion in Ealing alongside its mysterious new insurance policy. Until the end of August, journeys beginning in the London borough will cost just £1.
