Advocates Rally for E-Bike Legislation at Mass. State House

On Wednesday afternoon, a crowd of bike advocates and elected officials gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to urge lawmakers to follow the example of 46 other states and formalize a new legal definition of and regulatory framework for pedal-assist electric bicycles.

“Ebikes are here and they’re increasingly popular,” said Rep. Steven Owens (D-Watertown), the House sponsor of An Act Relative to Electric Bicycles. “Research has shown that for in-town trips, they’re replacing cars. You don’t like paying for gas? These are an order of magnitude less expensive than an electric car.”

Current Massachusetts law essentially treats pedal-assist bikes as mopeds, which require riders to be at least 16 years old, possess a drivers’ license, and register their vehicles. Mopeds are also prohibited on popular shared-use pathways like the Southwest Corridor and Minuteman Bikeway.

The proposed legislation (House bill 3457 and its companion, Senate bill 2309) specifies that “an operator of an electric bicycle shall be afforded all the rights and privileges, and be subject to all of the duties, of a bicycle or the operator of a bicycle.”

The bills would also provide a legal definition of e-bikes with three classes, which are defined by the electric motor’s top speed and whether the motor can be engaged without pedaling. Similar regulations have been enacted in 46 other states and in the federal government.

Legislation to clarify the legal definition of e-bikes has been introduced in the Massachusetts State House before, but so far has never succeeded in getting approval from both chambers and the Governor.

In the summer of 2020, for instance, the Senate approved e-bike legislation as an amendment to the annual transportation bond bill. But that language wasn’t included in the House version, or in the final version of the law that the Governor signed.

This story will be updated.