In just a single month, a new bill requiring a drivers license, registration, and insurance to ride the lowest-speed e-bikes has been racing through the legislature, despite unanimous opposition from transportation advocacy organizations. This bill lumps all low speed e-bikes with higher speed devices under the term “motorized bicycles” and eliminates the current classifications for different types of e-bikes. The Senate bill (S4834) has no co-sponsors but has already moved through two committees and is ready for a full vote. The Assembly Bill (A6235) was introduced less than a week ago and has already been released from one committee. We urge you to write and call your legislators and beg them to hit the brakes on this bill, which would restrict access to safe and affordable mobility options, slow our progress towards net-zero, create confusion at state border crossings, and distract from addressing real problems with high-speed electric mopeds and motor vehicles (e-motos)

In its current form, this bill works against many of New Jersey’s own policy goals, and poses a number of issues:

• Since 2019, the law has required high-speed (>20mph) devices to be licensed, registered and insured, but this has gone totally unenforced.
• Requiring insurance for lighter-weight, lower-speed devices (under 20mph) would create a huge, unnecessary barrier to compliance and use, and reduce the incentive to choose the safer mobility option.
• This bill likely contradicts federal law 15 USC 2085 which defines electric bicycles as consumer products, not motor vehicles. It preempts more restrictive laws at the state level which would seek to “upgrade” low-speed ebikes into “motor vehicles” (motorized bicycles requiring a license to operate).
• What happens when someone rides a low-speed e-bike into NJ from NYC or Philadelphia?
• Requiring registration and insurance will not meaningfully address roadway fatalities. By focusing on low-speed e-bikes, this bill distracts from the number-one source of over 500 fatalities and 3,000 serious-injury crashes annually in our state: motor vehicles.
• Increased costs and complicated procedures to operate low-speed devices will disproportionately impact overburdened communities.
• This will limit mobility access for vulnerable populations, such as seniors, families transporting children without a car, undocumented residents (for whom registration may be virtually impossible), and people with disabilities that prevent them from driving.
• This will slow New Jersey’s progress towards net zero. Nearly half of New Jersey’s total carbon emissions come from transportation. We should be incentivizing all types of electric vehicles, not making them harder to get.
• This bill would reduce accessibility on shared-use trails and discourage tourism.

Rather than creating barriers to this equitable, low cost mobility option, the state should instead focus its resources on:

1. Enforcing the law which already requires licensing, registration and insurance for faster, higher-powered electric devices;
2. Requiring vendors to register and clearly label and inform customers on safety and the laws governing low speed vs high speed devices
3. Educating vendors, law enforcement, and parents on the difference between these devices;
4. Implementing proven strategies for reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on our streets, such as infrastructure improvements for people walking, biking and taking public transit.

We need your help to reach out and inform the legislature about the unintended consequences of this bill before it’s too late.