Why D.C. is suddenly mobbed with mopeds

Suddenly, mopeds are everywhere — and if you follow D.C. social media, everywhere they're not supposed to be , zipping along bike lanes and through traffic stops.

Why it matters: In the city's evolving streetscape, where drivers and cyclists battle for road room alongside scooters and e-bikes, mopeds are the latest contenders. They're a lifeline of inexpensive transport for some and a street scourge to others.

By the numbers: Moped registrations have jumped nearly 165% in the last two years, according to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, which clocked 143 registrations last year, way up from 54 in 2022.

• So far, drivers have registered 78 mopeds in 2024.

Between the lines: Part of why mopeds are popular, especially for couriers and food delivery workers, is they hit a sweet street spot: they're faster than e-bikes but not as expensive or regulated as motorcycles.

• Mopeds are limited to 30 miles per hour in D.C. Any bike that goes over is categorized as a motorcycle and requires a special license (mopeds require a standard driver's license).
• They're allowed to park on sidewalks as long as they're not blocking pathways or tied to trees. However, they're not allowed to travel on sidewalks or bike lanes.

The big picture: Mopeds are a hot topic in New York City, linked to the city's new immigrant influx , undocumented workforce, and a rash of deadly battery fires , largely from e-bikes and scooters. All those problems echo in D.C. given our own migrant crisis and boom of battery-operated vehicles that have also caused fires .

• NYC's 65,000-strong food delivery workforce has been bolstered by undocumented immigrants, according to the New York Times , thanks in part to easy access to unregistered mopeds and lax verification processes by food delivery companies.

Yes, but: The NYPD recently cracked down on illegal vehicles, seizing some 7,000 unregistered mopeds this year , including clusters outside of shelters.

Reality check: Crashes and fatalities involving mopeds in D.C. are a tiny fraction compared with those linked to cars. According to the D.C. government's Crash Details data, mopeds and scooters comprise just 0.19% of overall incidents, whereas cars cover nearly 58%.

Zoom out: The D.C. DMV tells Axios it doesn't track unregistered mopeds, but that "law enforcement can stop any vehicle and/or driver if they are operating illegally."

• Police spokespersons tell Axios that new D.C. police chief Pamela Smith pledged to hold at least two "high-visibility Traffic Safety Compliance Checkpoints" per month in her first year after road safety concerns.
• Among all kinds of vehicles, officers so far have written 2,600 tickets and made 84 arrests.

Flashback: Starting in 2019, D.C. dabbled in shared mopeds as part of its equitable transport pilot program . Startups like Revel and Lime released hundreds of Vespa-like vehicles across all eight wards that licensed drivers could rent starting at just a few bucks.

• Both pulled out of the city by 2022, citing shifts in business priorities.
• Revel says it closed its NYC mopeds program last year due to competition from e-bikes and personal scooters, and to focus on the electric ride-share car side of its business.

What we're watching: More moped vendors are emerging in D.C.

• Fly-E-Bike, a New York startup with over 40 locations worldwide recently expanded to Petworth.
• It explicitly advertises that it targets a "niche market of food delivery workers who need to get around the city without any delays."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show Revel says it ended its moped program in New York due to competition and a shift in business models (not due to safety concerns).