Join SAFE to Discuss the Future of E-Bikes
Since 2017, electric bicycle sales have risen tenfold in the United States, representing a noticeable shift in how many Americans—particularly those in denser urban environments like Los Angeles—get around. The move to e-bikes has been primarily positive: They increase mobility options, alleviate traffic congestion, enhance public health, and reduce carbon emissions.
But innovation has outpaced regulation — as anyone who’s been shaken by a passing motorized electric motorcycle, which looks like an e-bike doing 30+ mph down Ballona Creek Trail can attest.
As e-bikes continue to roll off the shelves, how can we cultivate this growing alternative to driving while ensuring it’s as safe as possible?
SAFE Founder and Executive Director Damian Kevitt will discuss this and other pressing e-bike information in his lecture “The Future of E-Bikes,” which will be held this Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Harvey Mudd College or online.
The lecture—presented by Claremont Streets for People, Sustainable Claremont, and Harvey Mudd College’s Hixon Center for Climate and the Environment—also features Ross Pringle, an instructor at Pomona College and communications director for Claremont Streets for People. Pringle will explain the different classifications of e-bikes before Damian discusses “out-of-class electric motorcycles” that are sold as e-bikes, the local efforts to regulate these new classes of vehicles, and what we can do in Sacramento.
“The basic problem is that no regulations exist in the law on electric motorcycles which look like e-bikes, so cities have been adopting various local ordinances,” Damian said. “Because there is no state-wide legal structure for different classifications of e-motorcycles, it’s hard to have any sort of uniform enforcement.”
Some existing ordinances punish perfectly safe e-bikes, throwing out the baby with the bathwater. State legislation would help clarify the situation and ensure we don’t undercut a growing car-free movement before it can fully blossom.
“We’re not saying, ‘You shouldn't have an e-bike or be able to purchase certain types of e-motorcycles,” Damian said. “We just want to put e-motorcycles into a framework, so there is some degree of ability to control the safety as it relates to e-motorcycle riders, pedestrians, and car users.”
Interested in attending the event?
If you can’t make it to Harvey Mudd, you can livestream the event — or watch a recording later — here.