BOSTON- This week, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn filed an amended ordinance to effectively ban mopeds and e-bikes from third-party food delivery services. In April, the Council passed the Mayor’s Ordinance to require third-party deliveries to obtain a permit; however, it’s unclear drivers will be able to obtain liability insurance, and concerns on enforcement remain. Last week, a person tragically passed away after a collision with a third-party delivery driver near Copley Square in early August. While all information remains unavailable, Councilor Flynn maintains it is critical that the Council act to prevent more people from getting hurt – including the drivers themselves.

In recent years, Councilor Flynn worked closely with both Councilor Mejia and Councilor Pepén on a Task Force, as well as many of the drivers following the rules and working to make ends meet for their families. However, Councilor Flynn does not believe this pandemic model is sustainable, or in the best interest of public safety for the City. Nearly every day, residents report delivery mopeds and e-bikes

traveling over 20 mph the wrong way down the street, on sidewalks, running stop signs and red lights. These two-wheeled vehicles have tripled in just the last several years.

For nearly 8 years, Councilor Flynn has also called pedestrian safety one of the biggest issues in Boston.  In 2018, he recommended a 12-point plan on traffic-calming that goes further than the City, with raised crosswalks and raised infrastructure on main streets, commercial roads, and high traffic corridors. He has held annual hearings on pedestrian safety, and offered a resolution to declare speeding cars a Public Health Emergency. Councilor Flynn continues to stress that this is not about cars vs. bikes, e-bikes or mopeds – but that no reasonable person believes that our roads are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. He has emphasized that food delivery wasn’t always this way until just a few short years ago.

In 2022, during the pandemic, with the demand for food delivery higher with remote work – the city reported that their goal was for third-party deliveries to shift away from cars towards two-wheeled vehicles to reduce chaos, congestion, and public safety concerns associated with the loss of a travel lane on Boylston Street. However, in June 2024, the City subsequently launched the Boylston Street Better Bus and Bike Lane Project, eliminating two lanes and over 90 parking spaces for both a bike lane and a bus lane. In February 2025, the City announced removal of the bus lane.

In a 2024 letter to the City Council, Uber Eats noted that the city encouraged use of two-wheel delivery vehicles to decrease cars on the road, and the company had a 9 month pilot program to incentivize drivers to do so. In the early days of the pandemic, Councilor Flynn and Councilor Flaherty highlighted how these large companies were also charging local restaurants over 30% to use their services. City, state and national officials have all highlighted that they do not classify drivers as employees. There have also been reports on how third-party companies may potentially be incentivizing workers to prioritize speed over safety in order to receive more orders and tips, to keep high ratings, and their jobs.

While many highlight enforcement, Councilor Flynn believes it is wholly unrealistic to expect Boston Police to consistently enforce hundreds of mopeds every day with longstanding issues of staffing levels and overstretched resources. In Councilor Flynn’s view, the Mayor’s ordinance was a start, that the last few years have already been a de facto pilot program, and that the status quo is unenforceable with the potential for more people to get hurt. He’s respectfully asking his colleagues and the administration to have the courage to admit this model does not work as intended, just like the Boylston Street Bus Lane.

“Since 2022, the City of Boston encouraged large third-party food delivery companies to have drivers use two-wheel vehicles, while the companies also incentivized workers to prioritize speed over safety to get more assignments and higher ratings. The result has been a significantly worsened pedestrian safety crisis, with mopeds and e-bikes going over 20 mph through red lights and stop signs nearly every day,” said Councilor Flynn. “No reasonable person believes the rules of the road can continue to be optional. It can no longer be the Wild West on the streets of Boston.”

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].