> Those cabinets, which Joco says are FDNY-approved, are a growing vertical for the startup, particularly in NYC where battery fires have run rampant due to unsafe charging practices, leading many buildings to ban e-bikes and e-scooters.

First off, there's no such thing as "unsafe charging practices." The chargers are completely automatic, and all ebike batteries, even the really cheap ones the couriers prefer, have battery management system boards that cut off the battery if it gets over[voltage/temperature/current].

Second, _not a single fire_ in NYC was due to an e-bike. Every single one of them was an electric scooter or "personal mobility device" ie onewheel, hoverboard, etc. But NYFD kept calling them "ebike fires" and this was not a "mistake" (see below) https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2022/04/26/app...

Third, the NYC government has a long history of hateboners for ebikes. NYPD regularly would do "raids" and confiscate e-bikes from delivery workers, which they could get back for several hundred dollars - a fine greater than nearly any motor vehicle infraction there is. It amounted to a city-government-run-mafia shakedown of some of the city's poorest residents. This is just more of the same; NYFD are purposefully lumping in e-bikes with the devices actually causing fires, to push a narrative that eBikes are dangerous.