As someone who doesn’t live in the USA it’s difficult for me to determine if your comment refers to some context I’m unfamiliar with.
Are you implying electric push scooters are a solution for people who live 20 kilometres out of the city but work there?
I’ve never been, but doesn’t it snow in NYC?
The city has only lifted the ban on electric bikes a few months ago[1], but still bans electric scooters[2][3] because screw you, that's why. (They have reasons now, just like they've had reasons for banning e-bikes for over a decade after the technology provided a really viable mode of transportation at a reasonable price point).
That's the context you're missing.
[1]https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/11/why-does-new-...
[2]https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/nyregion/new-york-today-a...
[3]https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2018/07/19/nyc-s-do...
Allowing electric bicycles and push scooters solves the last mile problem for many people.
The argument the city has made is that electric bicycles are too dangerous and will cause injury to pedestrians. This is a bad faith argument, because it's already illegal to cycle on the sidewalk, and if the city actually cared about non driver safety, it would push to enforce bicycle lane safety. It also failed to provide sufficient, to me, evidence that electric bicycles and push scooters pose a threat to pedestrians.
If better transit options existed, including last mile (push scooter) and ~3mile solutions (electric rentable bicycles), perhaps people wouldn't Uber as much.
Kind of because you can go 20+mph on a regular bike without pedal assist. It seems like e-bikes are still banned statewide. Eh.
[1]https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/04/new-york-city...