E-bike rules: Brisbane City Council and RACQ pan new Queensland laws

New proposed rules forcing e-bike riders to hold a licence, ride at 10km/h on paths, and banning under-16s have been panned by Brisbane City Council.

And the RACQ has spoken out against two major recommendations.

After an inquiry sparked by concerns about injuries from high-speed already-illegal electric motorbikes and e-scooters, the Crisafulli government has introduced a bill that includes a raft of changes for legal e-bike riders.

It was supported by some, including Vision Australia, which was disappointed the bill did not go further and introduce bans on riding on footpaths and require devices to have a sound alert, similar to electric vehicles.

“While a maximum speed limit of 10km/h is better than one of, say, 25km/h, it still constitutes a significant safety risk for pedestrians who are blind or have low vision and cannot detect the approach of an e-mobility device,” Vision Australia wrote in a submission.

However, several councils opposed measures to crack down on riders of 250-watt e-bikes, which receive assistance up to 25km/h while pedalling, a common standard known as an “electrically power assisted cycle” or EPAC.

Brisbane City Council chief executive officer Dr Kerrie Freeman said the council was concerned about licensing and a blanket ban on under-16s.

She said while active transport was important to reduce congestion, requiring all riders to have a driver’s licence would be a disincentive to young people and exclude those with health issues who did not hold a licence but could safely ride a bike or scooter.

“There is no evidence that an EPAC carries a higher risk than a conventional bicycle,” Freeman said, in a submission to the parliamentary committee considering the bill.

“As [e-bikes] increase the range of a standard bicycle, they provide an affordable transport option attractive to young people.”

A study from Norway published this month found conventional bicycles accounted for more than twice as many injuries as e-bikes.

For Kim Fisher’s family, an electric cargo bike is their “second vehicle”, and they use it for most trips under 5km, including shopping, the library, doctor, seeing friends and heading to school.

She said most weekends they did a family ride with her husband on the cargo bike loaded with snacks and supplies, her on a regular bike, and their two boys, aged 11 and 8, on bicycles – all riding at the boys’ pace of 15-18km/h.

“The boys know that we slow down around dogs, kids, pedestrians,” she said.

“One of the reasons I’m baffled at the proposed legislation is that this ride is considered dangerous.

“If my husband changes to his regular bike, however, and we use exactly the same paths, the same riders, and we ride at exactly the same speed, then that’s suddenly fine.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Brisbane City Council’s CEO also noted the discrepancy between asking e-bike riders to travel at 10km/h on shared paths and footpaths but not regular bicycles.

“In many areas of Brisbane, a blanket 10km/h speed limit is inappropriate due to the length of bikeway/shared path, the small numbers of pedestrians, good sight distances, and the ability to pass safely,” Freeman said.

“Should signage be required, there will be a significant financial impact to council.”

About 90 per cent of Brisbane’s separated bicycle infrastructure is shared pathways, with very few “bicycle only” or “pedestrian only” paths.

A submission from the Gold Coast City Council, on behalf of chief executive Tim Baker, argued against licence rules, the age limit, and 10km/h speeds.

“The 16+ age limit castigates younger teenagers who use pedal e-bikes for school commutes,” it said.

The council said riders were unlikely to comply with the 10km/h limit, and those who did could become unstable, “paradoxically creating a greater safety hazard”.

Gold Coast data showed fatal e-mobility crashes and those causing serious injury were mostly due to motor vehicles.

Noosa Shire Council chief executive Larry Sengstock opposed the age limit, which he said would likely increase car dependence and reduce teenagers’ mobility in regional areas, where there was less public transport.

He said the 10km/h speed limit was “barely above walking pace” and would make e-bike commuting unviable, especially in regional cities with longer travel distances.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads last week confirmed the 10km/h limit, which is jogging speed, would also apply to rail trails, with many technically defined as “footpaths”.

Somerset Regional Council chief executive Andrew Johnson said about half of Brisbane Valley Rail Trail users rode e-bikes, including families supervising teenage children, with the trail attracting tens of thousands of tourists each year.

The RACQ argued against requiring riders to hold a driver’s licence, saying they could sit an e-mobility test that would not require a “fitness to drive” declaration.

Advocacy general manager Josh Cooney said the RACQ could not see a compelling reason for 10km/h speed limits. He said more concerning were close passes with walkers, or unsafe rider behaviour, which could be addressed by focusing enforcement on behaviour.

“A blanket 10km/h limit risks displacing riders onto higher-speed road environments, or discouraging e-mobility use altogether – outcomes that would increase traffic congestion and undermine active transport objectives,” he said.

Tech company See.Sense, which partnered with researchers to analyse data from sensors attached to bicycles, said the mean speed of Australian e-bikes was 18.5km/h, versus 22.5km/h for bicycles.

There are very few changes proposed for regular bicycles in the legislation, other than random breath tests.