The Boston City Council Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Councillor Gabriela Caleta Zapata, held a hearing on April 7, 2026, at 10:08 AM to discuss Docket #0325, an ordinance amending City of Boston Code Section 17-22 (Road Safety and Accountability for Delivery Providers). The proposed amendment would ban the use of mopeds and e-bikes for third-party food delivery. Councillor Ed Flynn, the lead sponsor, argued the measure is necessary to address public safety hazards, while several colleagues, the Boston Police Department, and many public speakers opposed the ban, urging implementation of the existing 2025 ordinance first.
For the record, my name is Gabriela Caleta Zapata, District One City Councilor, and I'm the chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Government Operations. Today is April seventh, twenty twenty-six, and the exact time is ten oh eight. This hearing is being recorded. It is also being live streamed at Boston.gov forward slash city dash council dash TV and broadcast on Xfinity Channel Eight, RCN Channel 82, and files channel nine six four. Written comments may be sent to the committee email at CCC.gov and will be made a part of the record to all counselors. Public testimony will be taken at the beginning in uh in the middle and also at the end of this hearing. Individuals will be called on in the order in which they signed up, and we'll have two minutes to testify. If you are interested in testifying in person, please add your name to the sign-up sheet near the entrance of the city uh council chamber. If you're looking to testify virtually, please email our Central Staff liaison, Megan at M E A G A N dot C O R U G E D O at Boston.gov for the link, and your name will be added to the list. Today's hearing is on docket number zero three two five ordinance amending city of Boston Code Ordinance 17-22, road safety and accountability for delivery providers. Today I'm joined by my colleagues in order of arrival, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Durkin, and Councillor Murphy. Members of my team will be listening in to this discussion. And I plan to review the recording. Thank you, Liz Burden, President of the City Council and Representative of Alston Brighton. I'll now pass it to my colleagues for any opening remarks that they may have. Um, starting with the lead sponsor, Councillor Flynn. Councillor Flynn, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this important hearing today. Thank you to my fellow counselors for being here. I filed this amendment last September and refiled it again in February. This is intended to remove mopeds and e-bikes from third party food delivery. It's important to acknowledge that someone lost their life last year after a crash with the moped near Copley Square. I'm afraid if this body does not act, more people will get hurt, including the drivers themselves. Food delivery was not something broken in our city that needed to be fixed. But just a few years ago, these large big tech third-party food delivery companies in the city encouraged workers to use mopeds to make these deliveries. The reason given was because of one lane blocked on Boylston Street. Now, across Boston, our streets are less safe with mopeds going through red lights, stop signs on sidewalks in on the wrong way on one-way streets, as they reportedly incentivized to prioritize speed over safety for more assignments, higher ratings, ultimately keeping their job. That made our existing pedestrian safety crisis worse from the speeding cars we already had. As I'm as I mentioned, a person died at Copley Square. No very reasonable person believes food delivery was violating traffic laws at that scale previously. Someone's delivery order is not an emergency. With all we're required to do with lower staffing levels and mandatory overtime, Boston police resources are now also being sidetracked to enforce a reckless big tech food delivery model from the pandemic. At a community meeting across the city for the last few years, residents continue to report these issues. While we highlight enforcement, it's unrealistic to expect Boston police to consistently enforce all of the hundreds of mopeds every day with staffing levels and overstretched resources. This is not about cars versus bikes, e-bikes versus mopeds. No reasonable person believes that our roads are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers over the last few years. In the early days of the pandemic, Council Flaherty and I also highlighted how these large technology corporations were charging mum and pop shops 30%. City and state and national officials all highlighted that they do not classify drivers as employees. When I started on the city council, the council came together to address Airbnb and investor units. Last April we passed the mayor's road safety ordinance to require third-party deliveries to obtain a permit. But it's not at all clear to drivers where they'll get this insurance. If you were a private insurance company, would you offer policies when you see this type of risk? Let's have the courage to admit that what is taking place now on Boston's roads and sidewalks is not working. We need to acknowledge reality. Boston can no longer be the wild wild west. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Councillor Flynn. Counselor Murphy. Um thank you, Councillor Flynn, for refiling and continuing this conversation. Thank you, Chair, for having this today.