Moped rental company Revel has suspended over 1,000 users in the last month for safety violations, the company said Thursday.
“We fine or suspend riders who violate these or our other safety rules. It’s no fun to get suspended — just ask one of the 1,000+ riders that we’ve suspended in the past 30 days,” Revel said in a scathing email to New York-based customers titled “Hey NY, we need to talk.”
The missive also reiterated city traffic laws for mopeds: no riding in bike lanes, sidewalks or parks; always wear a helmet; “never let anyone else use your account” and “follow all traffic laws.”
“We can’t believe we have to say this, but no running red lights,” the company wrote.
Business is booming for the scooter-share company amid the coronavirus pandemic, as commuters seek to avoid mass transit.
New Yorkers took 8,881 Revel trips per day in the last 15 days of May — compared to 4,181 per day in the first 15 days of March, right before the city went into lockdown, according to company data shared with The Post.
Local emergency room docs say the spike in both personal and rental mopeds has caused a rash of hospitalizations.
“Our patient interviews indicate loose compliance with the mandatory helmet and other common-sense traffic laws among the scooter ridership, resulting in serious injuries to both riders and innocent pedestrians,” Bronx doctors Angelo Macia and Daniel Murphy wrote in The Post last week.
In its email Thursday, Revel conceded the surge in ridership has been accompanied by “more people breaking the rules.”
“Bad behavior doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and when people misuse Revel it reflects poorly on every one of us,” the company said.
“If you see someone breaking the rules, don’t be shy about letting us know.”