The Jersey City Council is poised to vote on Ward E Councilman James Solomon’s amended e-bike delivery ordinance at Wednesday’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
” … We’ve developed a commonsense set of rules to keep pedestrians, bikers, and all road users safe and protect delivery workers from abuse. Here’s what those rules will do for road safety,” Solomon wrote on Instagram.
“1) Make delivery workers more visible with required vests or outerwear
2) Require app companies such as Grubhub to deliver a city-designed road safety test to delivery workers.
3) Certify that all delivery workers have the required safety equipment and IDs.”
He continued that the core worker protections ensure delivery workers see and receive all tips, allow them the ability to cancel a trip without sanctions, give deliveristas access to restaurant bathrooms where they are serving, and “free high-visibility outerwear from the app companies.”
The council approved the first reading of the local legislation at the end of February, with Mayor Steven Fulop coming out in support shortly thereafter.
Since then, the ordinance has been reintroduced for amendments for fine tuning and is now finally ready for a second reading vote, Solomon noted.
“This is an important first step to be voted on by the council next week. There won’t be overnight change, and we are setting a policy foundation so that three parties – app companies, delivery workers, & local government – share responsibility for ensuring the safety of all on our roads while protecting those doing the toughest work,” he also wrote.
The Jersey City Council convenes for their caucus at City Hall, 280 Grove St., today at 4 p.m. and will meet for their regular session on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both sessions will stream live on Microsoft Teams.
The Hoboken City Council approved their version of an e-bike delivery licensing ordinance at the end of March, as HCV first reported.