After removing service from the borough more than a year ago, Revel has returned its electric mopeds to part of the Bronx, the Bronx Times has learned.
The company pulled its mopeds from the borough in December 2021, blaming a “significant spike in thefts,” which was first reported by the Bronx Times. A source familiar with the matter said that the batteries were a particular target.
“We’re undergoing our annual process of expanding the moped service area for the warmer months, when ridership naturally increases,” Revel spokesperson Robert Familiar told the Bronx Times on Tuesday. “As part of that process, we wanted to start making mopeds available again for Bronx residents with a smaller initial service area.”
Familiar did not comment on what the company has done to deal with the issue of thefts.
The newly introduced Bronx service area is restricted to the west side of the borough. The new zone, which includes the Highbridge, Morris Heights and University Heights sections, starts just north of the Macombs Dam Bridge at Ogden Avenue and goes up to West Fordham Road.
Riders can drive the mopeds outside of the designated service area and temporarily park it elsewhere (in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan) by “pausing” their trip, but they must start and end their ride within its perimeter. Riders either pay per minute or purchase 30-minute, 60-minute or 12-hour plans, and the clock doesn’t stop when the trip is paused, meaning riders keep paying for the device until returning it to an official service area.
During the Bronx suspension, riders were similarly able to travel into the Bronx from Manhattan but had to end their ride outside of the borough in the designated areas in Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn.
Since the mopeds — which cap out at 30 mph — aren’t allowed on highways or major bridges, there is no way to cross into Queens from the Bronx on the devices. There are, however, several connectors to Manhattan.
If riders…
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