The sight of overpowered e-bikes speeding around Sydney’s suburbs carrying teenagers is becoming all too common, but some advocates say newly announced restrictions won’t fix the problem.
On Tuesday Premier Chris Minns announced that 500-watt e-bikes would be banned from sale in the coming weeks, bringing the cap in line with other states at 250 watts. He cited a Transport for NSW briefing paper which he said reported the more powerful bikes were dangerous.
E-bikes are popular with teenagers, especially in coastal suburbs. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
The new laws will be complemented by new federal import requirements that ensure all bikes coming into Australia meet European safety requirements, which has long been called for by bike safety advocates.
“If we have a different standard to other states, the federal government can’t snap those import restrictions into place. We’ve called on them to do that, and now we have to harmonise our rules as a result,” Transport Minister John Graham said.
Rob Stokes was minister for active transport in the previous Coalition government. It was his decision to increase the allowable wattage up to 500, and he told the Herald the decision was made to give those who needed a bit of extra boost to climb Sydney’s steep hills while still relying on pedal power.
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“The 500-watt standard was developed for Canadian cities like Vancouver that are sprawling and hilly,” he said. “Europe standards were developed for cities like Amsterdam that are dense and flat, the advice was that the Canadian standard was more appropriate.”
Electrically power-assisted bikes must cut out once the bike reaches a speed of 25 km/h, or if the rider stops pedalling over 6 km/h to be considered legal. Independent Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said without a licensing scheme or ways to enforce the ban, or detail on what will happen to existing 500-watt bikes, the government’s announcement would have little effect on her community.
She’s calling for more resources to enforce existing rules.
