this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2024
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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I've been tracking this bill since it was first proposed, and the author never got back to me on exactly what is within the scope of the bill. The relevant part of the bill reads:
For example, would a generic serial programmer device fall within the definition of such a "product or device"? How about software that is used with that device to modify the top speed of a specific ebike model? Common sense would say "no" to the first, and "maybe?" to the second.
But we can look to the author's own comments before the Assembly Transportation Committee:
But the committee staff already see the obvious flaw:
I would hazard a guess that ebikes manufacturers might start to do the same trick that e-motorbikes do, which is a wire that -- if severed by the owner -- would disable the speed governor.
As is somewhat typical now in the Legislature, these bills written against ebikes tend to come from SoCal, ostensibly because ebikes are an exceedingly popular alternative to driving on congested roads. What bothers me is that these representatives are not taking in the whole reality, which the committee staff report kindly summarized:
Given that reality, legislative effort apparently isn't following evidence but rather towards clumsy distractions that emulate a "tough on ebike" stance, as bizarre as that sounds.
At this point, the bill has already passed the Senate and the Assembly, so it'll soon head to the governor's desk, as is the norm around June of even-numbered years.
If you are a California constituent who cares about bicycle and ebike legislation, I would encourage you to sign up for Calbike's email updates on impending legislation of great significance to bicycling in this state. This bill is fairly minor, but who's to say something more momentous won't come next year?
Likewise, if your region has its own bicycle advocacy group (eg San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, BikeSD), get updates from them too.
Today's ebikes have only been legalized since 2016, so what is advocated for now will set the tone for decades to come.