Students around the US are now heading back to college, but there’s one thing many of them won’t be able to bring with them: electric bikes and e-scooters. Several campuses are joining a growing movement in higher education, banning these efficient transportation alternatives.
Electric bicycles, which are similar to pedal bicycles with an additional small battery and motor, have proven to be an incredibly popular choice for university students navigating campuses and college towns.
They’re easier to ride than a pedal bicycle, don’t require arriving to class sweaty, and are also much less expensive than owning a car. Other advantages such as free parking and minimal upkeep also make them ideal for students.
E-bikes, which usually cost between $1,000- $4,000, are fairly expensive compared to pedal bikes, and thus many students keep them in their dorm room or apartment to prevent theft.
But many colleges are starting to ban these popular and environmentally-friendly forms of transportation, either from being kept in dorm rooms or from being used anywhere on campus. So far we’ve seen two main reasons for these bans, both of which are claimed to be rooted in safety.
Fires and collisions
The two main issues at the heart of the debate around e-bikes and e-scooters on campuses relate to fire safety and collisions with pedestrians.
E-bike fires have grabbed headlines over the last year. There have been several deadly apartment fires in NYC that have been traced back to e-bike battery fires started during overnight charging.
While e-bike fires are incredibly rare (every day millions of e-bikes are charged without a fire), the small yet growing number of examples from cheaply-made electric bikes underscores that the issue can still prove lethal.
E-bike riders that flaunt traffic rules or ride aggressively on sidewalks around pedestrians have also lead to an increasing number of collisions, often injuring pedestrians. The problem can be exacerbated on college campuses that have a large number of students, meaning a penchant for riskier riding in an area with more pedestrians on their phones and oblivious to their surroundings.
Those two issues, fire safety and pedestrian injuries, are commonly cited among a growing number of universities telling students not to bring e-bikes and e-scooters to campus.
Boston College administrators sent a letter out to students earlier this year citing both examples in their campus scooter ban:
“In recent weeks, Boston College administrators have become increasingly concerned about the use of e-scooters and other electric transportation devices on campus, especially in regard to the health and personal safety of riders, pedestrians, and building occupant. Many faculty, staff, and students have reported near-collisions and limited access to facilities because of scooters, and recharging lithium batteries in such vehicles has resulted in numerous fires around the United States. Additionally, a number of BC students have suffered injuries from e-scooter falls, and such accidents have caused serious injuries on college campuses across the country.”
Fordham University, in New York City, banned any transportation device powered by a battery.
San Diego State University instituted a similar ban on battery-powered personal transportation devices, though reversed the decision after significant backlash.
Some campuses haven’t banned e-bikes outright, but won’t allow students to store them on campus, which often becomes a de facto ban.
Yale University recently sent out an email to all students announcing a new policy banning e-bikes both in on-campus housing as well as in the courtyards of buildings.
Electrek’s Take
I think these kind of heavy-handed regulations and blanket bans are an overreaction, doing more harm than good.
I could spend all day linking studies that show the tremendous benefits of e-bikes. Want to get to class faster, save money on public transportation and avoid rounding out with the freshmen fifteen all at the same time? Use an electric bike!
I know that when I was in college, there were times when I couldn’t physically get from one class to another in time due to the distance. I had two classes a half mile apart with ten minutes to get there. While that’s runnable, doing so with all your books and then navigating campus buildings makes it all but impossible. With an e-bike though, it’d be a snap. And that’s one of the many reasons that so many students turn to e-bikes. It’s the reason I did. This was back in 2009, and the next year I became the first person on campus with an e-bike. Hell, I was probably the first person in the city with an e-bike. So I’m not talking theoretically here – I’ve been in the student trenches and I know what a difference having an e-bike on campus makes for personal mobility. And it’s not just about getting to class on time. Getting around the city when you don’t own a car can be tough, but an e-bike makes it both easy and enjoyable.
I don’t mean to make light of the real safety concerns, but I think there is room for balanced solutions. Campuses can mandate that only UL-listed e-bikes are allowed on campus. The number of e-bikes fitting that list is growing every day. It’s easy to require students to show up at a campus office with their ride and get a sticker for it. No parking sticker? Don’t bring your non-UL-listed e-bike to campus.
For hooligan riding, just fine the hell out of them. College students are broke. I remember buying the $4.90 pizza that tasted like crap because the $5.00 halfway decent pizza across the street was more expensive. Put the fear of fines into students. Getting caught riding on sidewalks or riding recklessly can be policed into a manageable situation. Hell, put a bounty on it. Let students take pictures of someone riding recklessly and text it to campus police (who, let’s face it, usually aren’t overburdened with solving the case of the century most of the time). A $20 gift card to the campus bookstore is a small price to pay to cut down on the few bad apples that ruin it for all the responsible students just trying to mind their own business and ride safely to class.
In summary: stop banning e-bikes. Just incentivize safe, responsible e-bike use and punish rule breaking. That’s how society works. Why not start college students on it a few years earlier?
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U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Renewable energy giants appear relatively sanguine about U.S. President Donald Trump‘s anti-wind policies, describing the process of replacing fossil fuels with electrically powered products as “absolutely unstoppable.”
In a standalone executive order, which had been widely expected, the president temporarily suspended new or renewed leases for offshore and onshore wind projects and halted the leasing of wind power projects on the outer continental shelf.
“We are not going to do the wind thing. Big ugly windmills, they ruin your neighborhood,” Trump told his supporters at the Capital One Area in Washington on Monday. He previously described wind turbines as an economic and environmental “disaster.”
The measures formed part of a much broader energy offensive designed to “unleash” already booming oil and gas production. This included declaring a national energy emergency, promoting fossil fuel drilling in Alaska and signing an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the landmark Paris Agreement.
Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board of Siemens Energy, one of the world’s biggest renewables players, seemed unfazed by Trump’s sweeping energy agenda. In fact, Kaeser considered the policies a “slight plus” for the German energy technology group.
Shares of Siemens Energy jumped more than 8% on Wednesday morning, hitting a new 52-week high.
“We need to see what’s behind all the executive orders and the policies. So far, I believe there are many areas where actually Siemens Energy benefits a lot,” Kaeser told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.
There will be uncertainty for low-carbon energy sectors, such as onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said, before adding that Trump’s measures were unlikely to directly impact Siemens Energy. That’s partly because roughly 80% of the firm’s wind market is in Europe, Kaeser said.
“So, I believe that doesn’t move the needle. I’m much more worried about the European economies and how they deal with a very powerful nation, with a very powerful concept. We may or may not like it, because it’s got some nationalistic type of things, but if we look at it from the view of the American people, we better get something going,” Kaeser said.
Beyond onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said Siemens Energy was well positioned to capitalize from a “booming” electrification market.
“Think about the data centers, artificial intelligence, we have waiting times now on large gas turbines. Actually, customers are coming and saying, hey can I make a reservation and I’ll pay you for a reservation? Just think about that. It hasn’t happened for a long time,” Kaeser said.
“I believe the electrification age has just begun. Whether that’s gas turbines or wind or solar or something else, we’ve got everything, and the customers decide in the end. And one thing I believe one should not underestimate, the White House is not buying much [but] the customer does,” he added.
‘Very, very optimistic’
Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola was similarly bullish about the road to full electrification, describing the transition away from fossil fuels as “absolutely unstoppable.”
“We are seeing that probably we are in the best moment for electrification,” Ignacio Galán, executive chairman of Iberdrola, told CNBC at WEF on Tuesday.
Galán cited soaring global demand for electrically powered data centers, low-emission vehicles as well as cooling and heating applications.
A logo on the nacelle of a wind turbine at the Martin de la Jara wind farm, operated by Iberdrola SA, in the Martin de la Jara district of Sevilla, Spain, on Friday, April 21, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“All of those things require more electricity 24 hours a day. Our business in the United States is mostly in this area, which is networks … and the regulation depends on the state authority, so I think that is not really affected at all,” Galán said.
“Depending on the legislation, we will make more or less investment in another part of our business,” he added, referring to Trump’s energy policy.
“We are very, very optimistic about the United States and the future,” Galán said.
Wind power woes
Shares of some European wind power giants fell shortly after Trump took aim at wind power plans.
Denmark’s Orsted, which recently announced a roughly $1.7 billion impairment charge on U.S. projects, dipped 4.4% on Wednesday morning, extending steep losses from the previous session.
The rapidly growing offshore wind sector has endured a torrid time in recent years, hampered by rising costs, supply chain disruption and higher interest rates.
Windmills pictured during a press moment of Orsted, on Tuesday 06 August 2024, on the transportation of goods with Heavy Lift Cargo Drones to the offshore wind turbines in the Borssele 1 and 2 wind farm in Zeeland, Netherlands.
Nicolas Maeterlinck | Afp | Getty Images
Artem Abramov, head of new energies research at Rystad Energy, said Trump’s energy agenda essentially means the likelihood of any new offshore developments in the U.S. has fallen to zero — at least for now.
“The US currently has around 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of advanced-stage offshore wind developments that have reached final investment decision and are under construction, which are unlikely to be impacted by the order,” Abramov said in a research note published Tuesday.
“Moderate risk amid the unfavorable investment climate is present for 10.5 GW of projects which secured necessary permits but have not reached investment decisions,” Abramov said.
“The remaining 25 GW of early-stage projects are unlikely to see any progress under the current administration,” he added.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
On today’s episode of Quick Charge, President Trump has a wild first day in office, but it’s not ALL bad, either. Plus: Tesla gets diner integration, Hyundai keeps the deal train rolling, and it’s dad’s 80th birthday.
We also look ahead to some possible discounts for Tesla insurance customers, some news on the upcoming “cheap” Cybertruck, and wonder out loud if Puerto Rico’s billion dollar solar project is going to see the light of day. All this and more – enjoy!
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The Stripe logo on a smartphone with U.S. dollar banknotes in the background.
Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
Stripe cut 300 jobs, representing about 3.5% of its workforce, mostly in product, engineering and operations, CNBC has confirmed.
The payments company, valued at about $70 billion in the private markets, still expects to increase headcount by 10,000 by the end of the year, which would be a 17% increase, and is “not slowing down hiring,” according to a memo to staff from Chief People Office Rob McIntosh. Business Insider reported earlier on the cuts and the memo.
A Stripe spokesperson also confirmed to CNBC that a cartoon image of a duck with text that read, “US-Non-California Duck,” was accidentally attached as a PDF to emails sent to some of the employees who were laid off. Some of the emails mistakenly provided affected employees with an incorrect termination date, the spokesperson said.
McIntosh sent a follow-up email to staffers apologizing for the “notification error” and “any confusion it caused.”
“Corrected and full notifications have since been sent to all impacted Stripes,” he wrote.
In 2022, Stripe cut roughly 1,100 jobs, or 14% of its workers, downsizing alongside most of the tech industry, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates forced companies to focus on profits over growth. The Information reported that Stripe had a few dozen layoffs in its recruiting department in 2023.
Stripe’s valuation sank from a peak of $95 billion in 2021 to $50 billion in 2023, before reportedly rebounding to $70 billion last year as part of a secondary share sale. The company ranked third on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list.
In October, Stripe agreed to pay $1.1 billion for crypto startup Bridge Network, whose technology is focused on making it easy for businesses to transact using digital currencies.
Brothers Patrick and John Collison, who founded Stripe in 2010, have intentionally steered clear of the public markets and have given no indication that an offering is on the near-term horizon. Total payment volume at the company surpassed $1 trillion in 2023.