Honolulu’s e-bike working group keeps tabs on the city council

Following reports of the dangerous and illegal operation of electric bicycles in Oahu, the city and county of Honolulu have formed a task force to investigate how best to regulate the controversial machines and their often underage riders.

So far, the group — made up of the city Department of Transportation Services, the Honolulu Police Department, the state Department of Transportation and other city-level agencies, and the advocacy group Hawaii Bicycling League — has begun reviewing helmet rules, age restrictions and other legal issues related to e-bikes, city officials say.

After convening two of three non-public meetings in October, DTS director Roger Morton claims the working group understands that there are troubling issues with e-bikes now in use on the island’s roads.

And in the first nine months of 2024, he added, an alarming trend has also emerged.

“We had 180 e-bike accidents, which is a high number of accidents for nine months straight,” he told the city council’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

To reduce risks to younger e-bike riders and the general public, Morton said the working group has six “top issues” to consider, including variable helmet laws.

“Right now they range from 16 to 18, when you have to wear a helmet,” he said. “The group is toying with the idea of ​​making all devices uniform,” which would require all riders aged 18 or under to use a helmet.

The group also studied definitions of “classic e-bikes” associated with a three-class system – which classifies e-bikes based on speed and equipment components such as throttles – that has been adopted in other jurisdictions around the country, he said.

“But there are other vehicles too,” he said. “Some of them could be classified as electric dirt bikes or even electric motorcycles which frankly cannot be licensed for use on roads at this time.”

He added: “These devices can reach a speed of 110 km/h and are very different from the other types of e-bikes.”

“So one of the things the working group will try to do is try to define the different types of devices, including what we’re starting to call the ‘out-of-class’ devices, the ones that are faster,” Morton said. “And we will look at the licensing requirements.”

Determining suitable places to operate e-bikes is another problem, he said.

“Under current law, they are not allowed to operate on sidewalks,” Morton said. “But see whether a multifunctional path is appropriate or whether a cycle path or cycle path is suitable.”

“These are issues that are really undefined, and we’re going to try to define them and clarify where these vehicles can be legally used,” he said.

Age requirements are also a concern.

“There is a requirement that you have to be 15 years or older,” he said. “In some cases, some states are treating Class 1s differently than Class 2 or Class 3s, and we will continue to look at these issues.”

The behavior of the drivers is also investigated.

“Issues related to speed and reckless driving, such as wheelies, reckless behavior and multiple vehicle packing,” Morton said. “These are problems that we encounter all the time. We see them all on the streets, but there is kind of a gray area in our ordinances and in our revised bylaws.”

E-bike registration and operations are under investigation, “and whether or not we should make a change to our registration laws for some vehicles,” he said.

According to Morton, education and parental responsibility are the sixth topic that the working group examines.

“There was a discussion about the need for advance information about what the laws actually are, especially when it comes to our keiki and our younger children,” he said. “We’re seeing 12-year-olds, 13-year-olds being cited for illegal operation of the vehicle.”

He added, “In some cases I think we need to do a better job of educating parents and others about what the laws are” regarding e-bikes.

Morton said the e-bike working group will host an industry day meeting on Tuesday.

“And we have invited people who are involved in this industry of selling or renting vehicles to come and share their thoughts with us,” he said.

In addition, the city will host “a virtual public meeting” on Nov. 14 to let the public “express their opinions on these new devices,” he said.

The final working group meeting will take place on November 8, he said.

“We are committed to trying to make some sort of recommendations by the time you have your transportation committee meeting on November 19,” Morton added.

These recommendations relate to Bill 52, which aims to revise existing city laws regarding the use and ownership of e-bikes.

The measure, introduced by Council members Augie Tulba and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and drafted in partnership with the Hawaii Bicycling League, passed the second of three readings at the Council’s Oct. 9 meeting.

Dos Santos-Tam said he hopes Bill 52 will be completed by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Morton said he has heard from DOT about their respective plans to make recommendations to the state legislature “for changes in state law” regarding e-bikes.

“And we tried to promise them that by mid-November we would also be able to talk to our state partners about what this working group has come up with,” he added.

He said the last Council meeting is Dec. 11, “and we are trying to get this information to the Council so that you can take final action on Bill 52 at your last meeting.”

During council questions, Councilor Calvin Say asked Morton if he considered an e-bike “a vehicle.”

“I’m just trying to get coordination: If it’s a vehicle, why don’t we just go to the Department of Motor Vehicles?” Zeg asked. “They do the vehicle weight tax, and based on the weight of that particular vehicle … you get another source of revenue.”

Dos Santos-Tam then said that in addition to Bill 52, there are also opportunities under future Council measures to “look at some of the registration fees” in the city and the province.

“Some cost as little as 50 cents, which costs us more to send someone a new label of postage than we collect for the 50 cent fee,” Dos Santos-Tam added.

Morton noted that the city only has new registration fees at this time. “We don’t do annual fees for bikes at this time,” he said.

During public comment, Oahu resident and longtime bicycle commuter Alvin Yoshinaga said his normal route along King Street in Honolulu has changed.

“Pedal-assisted bicycles, like the ones I use, now make up a minority of the devices I see on the cycle routes,” he told the Council. “I say appliances, not bicycles, because basically the leftover stuff on the cycle routes, besides electric bicycles, is all kinds of other things like electric skateboards, electric all kinds of things.”

“So any kind of regulation you come up with is going to have to include all these diverse devices, plus devices that haven’t come to market yet,” he added.