Update: 8/9/25
It’s official: Citi Bike users will soon have to verify their age before riding, following concerns surrounding the underage use of e-bikes.
On Tuesday, August 12th, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro sent a letter to Lyft demanding “appropriate age verification steps” to prevent underage riders from using Citi Bike’s electric bicycles. Mastro pointed out too many riders under 16 were seen speeding on e-bikes–often without the “proper safety equipment” and regardless of the company’s 16 year old age limit.
Lyft said it was reviewing the city’s request, and as of August 18th, 2025 agreed to add age checks to the popular bike network. The company stated:
In the spirit of continued partnership, we are willing to comply with your instruction to implement an age verification step for Citi Bike riders. Such an integration will be complex, and will require multiple steps to implement, including vendor evaluation, selection, and negotiation, engineering scoping and execution, and taking any steps necessary to continue protecting user privacy
The age verification will be implemented within the next three months.
Original: 8/15/25
City Hall has a message for Lyft: no more underage teens speeding through NYC streets on Citi Bike e-bikes. Officials are demanding age checks — and threatening to lock up thousands of bikes if the company refuses.
On Tuesday, August 12th, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro sent a letter to Lyft CEO David Risher demanding “appropriate age verification steps”–like scanning a driver’s license or learner’s permit–to prevent riders under 16 years old from using Citi Bike’s electric bicycles; the minimum age allowed under the company’s terms of service.
“The dangers of underage use are compounded by these riders’ frequent failure to use proper safety equipment,” Mastro wrote, pointing to a recent Daily News op-ed from Bradley Tusk warning that helmetless teenagers on speedy e-bikes are a “disaster waiting to happen.”
Mastro warned the city would take “appropriate steps” if Lyft fails to act quickly.
Sources say Citi Bike partner Citigroup’s Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs, Ed Skyler, met with Lyft in June to push for stronger verification. Discussions have been ongoing since, and Lyft says it’s currently reviewing the city’s request.
This isn’t the first time Citi Bike’s age verification–or failure to do so–came under question. Brooklyn Council Member Justin Brannan has been sounding the alarm for weeks, blasting Lyft’s current self-reported age system as a loophole that lets “14-year-olds rent a 15 mph bike in seconds.” He’s threatened legislation if the company doesn’t act.
The city’s pressure campaign comes as e-bike safety remains in the spotlight. In 2023, 76% of NYC cycling fatalities involved e-bikes–up fivefold from 2019–and there’s been a recent uptick in accidents involving minors. Last year, a minor on a Citi Bike e-bike sent another rider to the hospital in a crash, and in another case, a 16-year-old sued after breaking her jaw in Brooklyn.
Citi Bike’s network spans more than 20,000 bikes–over 4,000 of which are electric–and logged nearly 4.9 million rides in June alone. Just last month, Lyft agreed to cut Citi Bike e-bike speeds from 18 to 15 mph after Mastro issued an emergency order.
Other cities already have stricter rules. In Mexico City, Lyft requires an ID scan for bikeshare accounts, and Lime’s NYC scooter network enforces ID checks, slower “beginner mode” speeds, and even nighttime curfews.
Mastro’s latest letter makes clear the city can remove or lock the bikes if it determines they pose a threat to public safety.
For now, all eyes are on Lyft’s next move–and whether New York’s most popular bike share will finally make underage riders prove their age before hopping on.