Local police departments don’t know how to handle them and advocates like myself aren’t really able to guide education to really make sure that they’re being ridden safely
— Galen Mook, Executive Director, MassBike Coalition
E-Bike Regulations Roll On
E-Bikes, along with scooters and other so-called micromobility devices, may soon answer to a new set of rules in Massachusetts.
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17 July 2026 – CAPE COD, MA – Cape Cod has emerged as an e-bike hub – especially during the summer season. These motorized devices zip and zoom their way along bike trails, side roads and parking lots. Their wide-spread visibility delivers unmistakable proof of just how popular they have become for both transportation and recreation.
Have e-bikes caused safety concerns?
However, as e-bikes as well similar devices such as motorized scooters and mopeds continue to grow in popularity, public safety concerns have spiked as well.
“We hear it all across the state, from the Berkshires, to the Cape, to the city that people are on these scooters, they’re on these faster bikes and we don’t know what they are,” said Galen Mook, Executive Director of bicycle advocacy group MassBike Coalition.
“Local police departments don’t know how to handle them and advocates like myself aren’t really able to guide education to really make sure that they’re being ridden safely.”
How did Massachusetts respond?
In response to these concerns and the absence of clear, consistent regulations, Mass. Gov. Maura Healey took action this spring. In early May, she filed “An Act to enhance the safe use of micromobility devices,” otherwise known as the Ride Safe Act. Advocates say it will improve public safety relating to e-bikes, scooters, mopeds and similar devices.
“Micromobility is already a part of how people get to work, school and around their communities, but right now, the rules are unclear and inconsistent,” Gov. Healey said in a statement. “We are seeing too much reckless behavior, more crashes and close calls, and too many people, especially pedestrians and young riders, are at risk.”
What does the Ride Safe Act do?
According to the state, the Ride Safe Act creates a clear statewide safety framework meant to reduce crashes, protect vulnerable road users and provide law enforcement with the authority to act when necessary. In short, the bill aims to clarify micromobility regulations and restrict the use of higher-speed devices in locations where public safety has become a concern, such as bike trails and sidewalks.
Has the bill passed yet?
The bill remain in active play in the legislature and has yet to become law.
According to Mook, the Ride Safe Act has been progressing on three different tracks: as part of two economic development bills–one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate, as well as a standalone bill filed by the Senate and sponsored by the Joint Committee on Transportation.
“[This] is a good sign for people like me who want to get some legislation passed because it shows they are actually putting a lot of work into it at the beginning of summer to get something out,” Mook said.
When Could the Ride Safe Act Pass?
While the bill has seen considerable movement with the legislature, Mook doubts it will impact e-bikers in any way this summer.
“I’m not expecting the bills to pass or to be voted on by the end of [July], but I am expecting them to maintain their priorities in the bills that are moving,” Mook said.
In the immediate future, legislators must agree to keep the Ride Safe Act in conference beyond the current legislative session scheduled to conclude July 31. Mooks says he is confident the bill will remain alive and expects further discussions later this year.
“The real deadline is early January of ‘27 that everything’s got to be done, done, done,” Mook said. “So my hunch is we might be seeing some more conversations around this, you know, into September, October, maybe even seeing them move a little bit later into the fall.”
Who developed the Ride Safe Act?
Governor Healey filed the Ride Safe Act based upon recommendations from the Special Commission on Micromobility, which formed under the Mass Leads Act and operated throughout 2025.
The commission released its final report in January, following “extensive engagement with state agencies, municipalities, advocates, businesses and law enforcement, industry and advocates,” according to the state.
What does the bill recommend?
Mook, who served on the commission, said that the final report features 16 recommendations based on three broad categories: device requirements, travel allowances and operational restrictions.
“Not all 16 made it into [the governor’s] bill, which is fair because it’s a fairly extensive commission report, which is going to take many years of further work,” Mook said.
What is speed-based criteria?
Gov. Healey’s bill proposes a regulatory system that categorizes micromobility devices by speed, rather than device type. This marks a unique approach to the question of how to manage the devices.
According to the state, utilizing speed-based criteria will address safety risks associated with higher-speed devices and help rules keep pace with rapid technological advancements.
“So we created a speed-based criteria, which broke it down into certain tiers,” Mook said. “0-20 [mph] is Tier 0, 21-30 is Tier 1, 31-40 is Tier 2, etcetera, etcetera. So different tiers of different categories would then require different operations requirements, different travel allowances, etcetera.”
According to the state, this speed-based framework says lower-speed e-bikes will follow bike lane rules with helmet requirements and protections for riders under the age of 16.
Meanwhile, higher-speed devices will face comparatively stringent requirements, including registration, insurance and roadway restrictions. The bill also implements a minimum age requirement of 16 for operating higher-speed devices.
How does the act define different e-bike categories?
The Ride Safe Act also seeks to clarify the difference between lower-speed and higher-speed e-bikes.
“So we’re trying to pull out what would be Class 3 e-bikes, which…you might see sold at a bike shop with what would be a motorized bicycle, or what we’re calling now an e-moto, which are these electric faster devices,” Mook said.
The bill also looks to establish a micromobility commission to guide next steps, such as policy recommendations regarding registration, insurance requirements, rule enforcement and infrastructure.
Who supports E-Bikes?
Organizations like MassBake may be rooted in traditional, human-powered cycling, but Mook says the advocacy group fully supports the electric-assisted counterpart.
“We actually want to encourage people to use these for transportation and recreation,” Mook said. “We know and we’ve seen e-bikes, in terms of the slower-speed e-bikes, really be accessibility tools. They get a lot of new people who wouldn’t [have] thought about riding out on two wheels, or people who have had injuries back on two wheels, or maybe they’re older adults and feel like they’ve aged out of being able to tackle that hill.”
What happens next?
Mook hopes Massachusetts adopts a holistic approach to micromobility regulations. While he encourages local entities to handle educational and enforcement campaigns, Mook says policy decisions require a more collaborative approach.
“We need to think of transportation as a regional conversation,” Mook said.
“You don’t just bike to a town line and stop, you know what I mean? As municipal boards, as town committees are really thinking about tackling this, [they] should not limit the ability to actually make regulations, but they should be done with the advice of the Special Committee of Micromobility’s recommendations and under the advisement of where we think the legislation is going to land.”
More information:
- More about the Ride Safe Act from the Healey-Driscoll administration: https://www.mass.gov/news/
governor-healey-files-ride- safe-act-to-strengthen-public- safety-regulate-e-bikes- mopeds-and-scooters - MassBike: https://www.massbike.org/
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