Regulation of E-bikes in the United States: A Policy Review

With all the effort to get more people biking, United States still has low ridership numbers, especially commuters, older adults and people with physical limitations. Can technology change biking and allow people to overcome actual or perceived barriers? At the same time e-bikes are on the raise, there are areas around the country that are struggling to understand how e-bikes should be regulated and where they should be allowed within bicycle infrastructure. As the U.S. turns the corner of the “early adopter” phase of e-bikes, the need for clear and consistent laws governing the device will become pressing. This paper attempts to delineate the various forms of e-bikes and provide an overview of e-bike regulations in the U.S. Through compiling and analyzing federal, state, and municipal regulations, this paper offers an analysis of electric bicycle definitions and regulations. The analysis shows the vastly differing requirements for e-bikes. First, there is a perceived contradiction between the federal “definition” and how state bodies classify and govern the use of e-bikes. Second is the general lack of e-bike-specific definitions at the state level for most states, which tend to lump e-bikes into classifications such as moped or motorized cycle. When definitions do exist, they are often inappropriate, convoluted, or inconsistent with information available on department of transportation (DOT) and department of motor vehicles (DMV) websites.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Bicycle Transportation. Alternate title: Regulation of E-bikes in the United States: Policy Review
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • MacArthur, John
  • Kobel, Nicholas
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2015-1-11 to 2015-1-15
• Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 94th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Classification; Definitions; Electric vehicles; Policy; Regulation
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Law; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01555156
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 15-4235
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 26 2015 10:03AM