Electric bikes and e-scooters will be exempt from registration, tax or insurance if they not able to travel at speeds above 25km/h, the Government has confirmed.
The long-awaited Road Traffic and Roads Bill will legislate for e-bikes and e-scooters, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.
E-bikes that conform with EU regulations that do not allow for pedal-assisted cycling above 25km/h will be treated the same as normal pedal cycles.
E-bikes are currently subject to the EU directive 2002/24/EC that allows the bike’s motor to support a cyclist up to 25km/h. A cyclist can go faster than that, but they will not be assisted by the motor.
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However, the small but growing number of e-bikes that allow for pedal assistance over 25km/h will require registration, insurance and tax under the legislation that has yet to make its way to the Oireachtas. Only those with a driver’s licence will be allowed to cycle them.
The Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton said the registration of the more powerful e-bikes is necessary because of the potential risks these bicycles represent to pedestrians.
They will also not be allowed to be use pedestrianised zones or cycle lanes.
In a response to two parliamentary questions from Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy, Ms Naughton said her officials were currently engaging with insurance industry representatives in relation to high-powered e-bikes.
Ms Naughton said e-scooters will now be reclassified as “powered personal transporters ”. Up to now, they would be subject to vehicle registration, tax and insurance. However, this technicality has not been enforced.
Technical and safety standards will be set down for them, she said.
“Only vehicles which are type approved can be registered and accordingly it is not intended that powered personal transporters will require registration,” she said.
“The programme for government committed us to legislating for e-scooters and e-bikes and accordingly the Road Traffic and Roads Bill, which recently completed committee stage, will clarify the legal position of these vehicles in the Road Traffic Acts.”
In her Dáil reply, the Minister of State said: “My officials will consider potential mechanisms with a view to facilitating the enforcement of road traffic law for e-scooters in the regulations for their use, which will be subsequent to the Bill.”
“The upcoming change of status for this type of vehicle was notified to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners earlier this year and my officials have been working closely with that office to facilitate the change,” she told the Social Democrats TD.
