City councilor calls for restrictions on e-bikes and mopeds, including ban for food delivery drivers

"Speaking during Wednesday's City Council meeting, Flynn referenced multiple recent tragic events when advocating for the changes. Last year, a man died after being struck by an e-bike near Copley Square, and a teenage boy died after riding an electric dirt bike into a car in Stoneham. Flynn referenced a Boston Globe opinion piece that ran last November where three Massachusetts General Hospital doctors raised concerns about the lack of oversight on e-bikes and similar vehicles."

"In that piece, the authors pointed to one study that found a 293% increase in e-bike injuries between 2019 and 2022 and another that found a nearly 100% annual increase in e-bike injuries. "This is about acknowledging what our medical professionals and law enforcement have noted as a growing trend, to take action for safer streets, prevent more tragedies. This is about public safety. This is about public health," Flynn said."

"The new measure Flynn introduced would ban e-bikes that can travel more than 20 mph from bike lanes and sidewalks. It would also ban "high-speed" e-bikes, ones that can exceed 30 mph, from those areas. It would require that operators of high-speed e-bikes be older than 16, register their vehicle with the RMV, hold a valid driver's license, and comply with all equipment, lighting, signaling, and traffic requirements applicable to"

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn filed measures to sharply restrict e-bikes, mopeds, and motorized scooters, aiming to ban their use by third-party food delivery drivers and limit their operation in bike lanes and sidewalks. The proposals include prohibiting e-bikes that exceed 20 mph from bike lanes and sidewalks and banning high-speed e-bikes over 30 mph from those areas. Operators of high-speed e-bikes would have to be older than 16, register with the RMV, hold a valid driver's license, and meet equipment and traffic requirements. Flynn cited tragic collisions and studies showing steep increases in e-bike injuries to justify the measures.

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