Charlotte City Council is preparing to consider new regulations governing e-bikes and similar vehicles after concerns from police and city leaders about how some of the vehicles are classified and used.
At the City Council Transportation Committee meeting Monday, CMPD Capt. Jeremiah Blow said many vehicles commonly referred to as e-bikes are more accurately described as motorcycles.
“They're referred to as e-bikes, but they're motorcycles,” Blow said. “There's no pedals, there's no part of it that's a bicycle.”
Blow cited a recent incident involving a young rider.
“Two weekends ago, we got a 12-year-old at 1 a.m. on one of these,” he said. “We called his parents and they're like, 'He's just on his e-bike.'”
City Council member Dante Anderson, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said he wants staff to develop recommendations for potential ordinance changes.
“I'd love for us to have a proposal around what our potential modifications of an ordinance would look like, including those definitions of a motorbike and other vehicles,” Anderson said.
No proposed ordinance changes were discussed during the meeting.
