CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte City leaders are considering their options for regulating e-bikes. A potential ordinance could restrict where they’re allowed and define what’s considered an e-bike.
City council’s Safety Committee is looking at existing ordinances in Cornelius and Davidson as possible models. Those ordinances say e-bikes with speeds over 20 miles per hour are considered mopeds and e-bikes over 30 miles per hour are considered motorcycles.
CMPD says speed is a big issue. Captain Jeremiah Blow says, “Two weekends ago, we got a 12-year-old at one AM on one of these. We called his parents and they’re just like, ‘He’s on his e-bike.’ So there’s just a lot of confusion among everybody. Everybody uses that term e-bike, but they’re really just motorcycles flying up and down the streets.”
The Safety Committee will review a draft ordinance before the full city council takes up the issue.