Mass. races to regulate the "Wild West" of e-bikes and scooters
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Massachusetts officials are racing to bring some legal clarity to e-scooters, e-bikes and other new electric vehicles that are growing in popularity faster than the rules meant to govern them.
Why it matters: Massachusetts ranks fifth in the nation for road congestion, while 57% of all in-state trips are three miles or shorter.
- 80% of those short trips are still made by car, but small, cheap, personal electric vehicles are beginning to fill the gap.
What they're saying: "It's like corralling the Wild West," MassDOT board member Rick Dimino said after a presentation on "micromobility," the catch-all term applied to these vehicles, at a board meeting in February.
- "The words that people use to talk about these devices are confusing. The terms that the public uses are different from what's in Massachusetts general law or regulation," Chief Innovation Officer Kris Carter told the board.
The big picture: The legislature set up a Special Commission on Micromobility that issued 16 policy recommendations to safely integrate e-bikes, scooters and similar devices into the state's already-choked transportation network.
Zoom in: A study of the state's $5 million e-bike rebate program targeting lower-income residents found 85% of riders replaced car trips with their new bikes.
State of play: The commission wants the state to adopt a four-tier, speed-based classification system:
- Tier 0 (0–20 mph): Standard e-bikes and scooters.
- Tier 1 (21–30 mph): Class 3 e-bikes and mopeds.
- Tier 2 (31–40 mph): Limited-use motorcycles.
- Tier 3 (41+ mph): Full motorcycles.
Of note: Devices in Tier 1 and above would be required to show a "micro ID" decal for law enforcement identification.
- Helmets would be mandatory on Tier 1 vehicles and up.
- There would be a minimum riding age of 16 and bans on faster mopeds in bike lanes.
Between the lines: A 13-year-old was killed in Stoneham after a collision involving a high-powered electric dirt bike. It's the kind of vehicle routinely misclassified as an "e-bike."
- That led to House Speaker Ron Mariano calling for tighter enforcement, something the Legislature has been mulling for the better part of a decade.
What's next: The commission's recommendations should now go before the legislature for votes.
The bottom line: Without some kind of state action, MassDOT officials warn Massachusetts risks retaining a growing parallel transportation system operating in, as one MassDOT board member put it, "complete chaos."