Vision Zero, NYC’s ongoing mission to eliminate traffic fatalities, is working, according to items in the Mayor’s Management Report, scheduled to be released Wednesday.
According to numbers shared by City Hall with amNewYork ahead of its release, the report will highlight a significant 24% drop in traffic fatalities during FY2025 — the months of July 2024 to June 2025 — making it the lowest fatality rate since FY2020. According to Mayor Eric Adams, 2025 was “one of the best” recent years for Vision Zero, which launched in 2014 using legislation, enforcement and other means to end traffic-related deaths.
“Our administration is, once again, showing how our competent management is delivering real results for all New Yorkers,” Adams said. “In the areas that New Yorkers care most about — affordability, public safety, education, and cleanliness — we are breaking records and delivering for working-class people.”
City Hall officials said that per the report, which gives an annual look into how well the city government tackled key issues, fatalities in the streets are down across multiple categories. Compared to the previous fiscal year, deaths related to motorized two-wheelers, which include mopeds and e-bikes, dropped 39% and for motor-vehicle occupants, 32%.
Despite a spate of high-profile fatal pedestrian collisions in 2025, this category also decreased 8%, per City Hall.
Officials said there were four total traditional bicyclist fatalities this fiscal year. Though fatalities decreased, non-fatal collisions involving e-bikes and stand-up scooters increased 34.2% and .8% year to date compared to the same period in 2024, according to the latest NYPD statistics.
A spokesperson for the mayor credits the improved fatality rates to initiatives such as the installation of around 87 miles of protected bike lanes, Albany’s expansion of speed cameras to an all-day, everyday operation, the default 25 mph speed limit, traffic enforcement, and public outreach.
But the mayor has also not been shy during his administration about seizing illegal ghost vehicles, which are nearly untraceable due to forged or altered license plates, and illegal and unregistered motorized scooters, bikes, and mopeds.
According to reports, the administration has seized over 100,000 of these vehicles since 2022.
“We are dedicated to making New Yorkers safer, including safer on our streets, in cars, and as pedestrians. With the lowest number of total fatalities — since Fiscal Year 2020 — we are making major gains in accomplishing the aims of Vision Zero,” Adams said. “But make no mistake, one death is one too many, and we will continue to improve our streets and conduct enforcement against reckless e-bikes and drivers so that everyone is safe.”
As the mayor continues his bid for reelection, he added that his administration is dedicated to making streets safer and improving the quality of life in NYC.
“From making our streets and subways safer to creating or preserving over 28,000 affordable housing units to cracking down on ghost cars, potholes, and illegal dumping to winning the war against rats, we are improving quality of life at every turn for New Yorkers and ensuring our city remains the safest big city in the country,” he said.
Potential redesign of bustling Canal Street
Meanwhile, the city’s Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on whether to expand sidewalks and redesign Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, in part to improve safety along the bustling corridor populated with street vendors, pedestrians, and vehicular traffic.
According to DOT, the redesign will help to reduce pedestrian crowding, improve sidewalk access, enhance crossing safety, simplify complex intersections, create open space, and improve connections to the existing bicycle network.
“Every New Yorker deserves safe streets, and that is why this proposal for Canal Street aims to turn a high-crash, highway-like corridor into a street that is safer for everyone,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Through the planning process, we will gather important public feedback on how the future design of this street can improve safety for everyone, ease congestion, and increase economic growth. I encourage everyone to ensure their voices are heard through our upcoming workshops.”
Enhancing the Fair Fares program
City Hall officials also told amNewYork that the city’s Fair Fares program, which provides half-price subway and bus fares for eligible New Yorkers, saw a recent 11% jump in enrollment to over 378,000.
In January, Adams, along with other elected officials, announced an eligibility expansion to include New Yorkers earning up to 145% of the federal poverty level, making nearly 200,000 additional low-income and working-class New Yorkers eligible for the discount.
As the high cost of living continues to plague many New Yorkers, a movement is building with the goal of raising the Fair Fares eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level.
“Fair Fares has been a crucial lifeline of mobility and affordability in a city that has become far too expensive for many,” Brian Fritsch, associate director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, told amNewYork last week. “Yet its current eligibility threshold is too low for many of the New Yorkers who need it the most, including many minimum wage workers. Expanding the program to at least 200% of the federal poverty level and to the LIRR and Metro-North in the city are overdue steps to making NYC more fair and equitable.”
Currently, a single bus or subway ride is $2.90, but the cost is expected to go to $3 in January.
