01555156

Component

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.

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

01550057

15-4235

English

17p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Bicycles; Classification; Definitions; Electric vehicles; Policy; Regulation

United States

Law; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration; I90: Vehicles

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-4235

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 1:23PM