California Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1096, legislation that clarifies the regulation of electric bicycles (e-bikes) in California, culminating a campaign coordinated by the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), PeopleForBikes and the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) to refine how and where cyclists can ride electric bicycles.
Assembly member David Chiu (D-San Francisco) introduced the legislation, and played an instrumental role in the bill's success. A.B. 1096 passed the Legislature with unanimous support in both chambers and takes effect on January 1, 2016.
The legislation updates California law to reflect the progression in technology around electric bicycles. The bill designates three classes of e-bikes and distinguishes lower speed electric bicycles that reach motor-assisted speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, from higher “speed pedelecs” which have motors that provide assistance up to 28 miles per hour. This class system allows the use of lower-speed e-bikes on bicycle paths, and also provides local authorities with the flexibility to regulate different types of e-bikes based on their needs.
In addition to modernizing e-bike law, with A.B. 1096, e-bikes are no longer regulated like mopeds, and the same rules of the road will apply to both e-bikes and human-powered bicycles. E-bikes are also no longer subject to the registration, licensing, or insurance requirements that apply to motor vehicles.
“The US bicycle industry is very pleased that Governor Brown signed AB 1096 into law,” said Larry Pizzi, Chair of the BPSA's Electric Bicycle Committee and top executive of Accell Group North America, which has pioneered the introduction of modern sport e-bikes in the United States. “We believe that these new regulations will serve as a model for many other states to follow and provide safe and appropriate access to bicycling infrastructure for the wide variety of low-speed electric bicycles that are being marketed today. From the onset of our involvement in drafting the concept for the bill, safety has been our primary concern. With a multi-class structure established, states, municipalities and land management agencies can regulate effectively and clear a path for the proliferation of electric bicycles, which we believe will provide access to bicycling for many more Americans.”
The BPSA and PeopleForBikes thanked Assemblymember David Chiu for sponsoring the legislation and his staff for successfully shepherding it through the legislature. They also thanked the Executive Director of CalBike, Dave Snyder, and the entire CalBike staff for their significant contributions to this effort to get more people riding bicycles.
