NYC Subways Ban Hoverboards, Chicago Confiscates Thousands of Them

Sorry, New Yorkers. You can't take your hoverboards on the subways, trains or buses.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency announced that the motorized scooters popularly known as "hoverboards" wouldn't be allowed in MTA stations or vehicles.

"The safety of our customers and employees is always our top concern," David Mayer, the MTA's chief safety officer, said in a statement.

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22 hoverboard fires under investigation

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"For obvious reasons, it is not safe to use hoverboards, skateboards or other personal wheeled vehicles on station platforms," he said. "We’re equally concerned about the safety risk of bringing devices that pose fire hazards into the confined spaces inside trains and buses."

The MTA noted that federal regulators said that "under certain conditions, lithium batteries can pose a heat, fire, and explosion risk." The lithium-ion batteries in some hoverboards have caused fires across the country, which has prompted other cities to crack down on them as well.

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In Chicago, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Wednesday that it had confiscated more than 16,000 imported hoverboards that contained unauthorized batteries and fake trademark logos.

"Not only are these hoverboards a serious safety hazard but they also threaten our economic security by hurting legitimate businesses who invest significant amounts of resources into development and protection of their brands," CBP Director of Field Operations William Ferrara said in a news release.