New Jersey has just passed some of the most significant restrictions on e-bike users worldwide.
From July 2026, the US state will require all e-bike riders to hold a licence and registration while most riders will also require an insurance policy. Those aged 15 or 16 must obtain a “motorised bicycle licence” to ride, while riders aged 14 and below are banned entirely.
It effectively scraps the three-class system that has been the backbone of e-bike regulation across the country in favour of a structure closer to that used for cars or motorcycles.
A “knee-jerk” response
Adopted in more than 40 US states, the three-tier classification system regulates e-bikes based on their speed, motor assistance and throttle usage.
Class 1 e-bikes are pedal-assist, feature no throttle and have a maximum assisted speed of up to 20mph. Class 2 e-bikes also have a maximum speed of 20mph but are throttle-assisted, while Class 3 e-bikes are pedal assist, have no throttle, and reach a maximum assisted speed of up to 28mph.
New Jersey’s new law now brings its own categories, mandating all e-bike riders to have license and registration while treating Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes as ‘motorised bicycles’ with the additional insurance requirement.
Whilst the standard three-tier class system is widely credited by the industry, New Jersey state leaders argued that it failed to keep pace with the rapid growth of e-bikes following several high-profile, fatal high-speed crashes involving e-bikes. According to federal data, e-bike injuries rose by 293% from 2019 to 2022.
“The dramatic increase in the use of e-bikes has created greater dangers for their operators, other motorists and pedestrians,” said Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari in a statement.
“They are faster, more powerful and far more prevalent. Their popularity with young people, coupled with their inexperience as operators, puts them at greater risk.
“We are in a new era of e-bike use that requires updated safety standards to help prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities. Requiring registration and licensing will improve their safe use and having them insured will protect those injured in accidents.”
Brandon Schuh, a mobility insurance expert at US broker Christensen Group, echoes much of the industry sentiment that the New Jersey law is a “knee-jerk” response to the tragic e-bike fatalities. Schuh believes that safety concerns overlook a key factor.
“There are around 40,000 road fatalities a year in the US,” Schuh tells Zag Daily. “The vast majority of bike fatalities involve an automobile. Occasionally, a bike will hit a pedestrian or another bike. But in most cycling fatalities, a car is involved.
“That’s because the infrastructure in these cities is designed for automobiles, not bikes. Bikes don’t have a place in the system and this law will continue to marginalise biking communities and push them to the periphery.”
Brandon Schuh, Head of Speciality Insurance at Christensen Group
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a total of 1,155 bicyclists were killed in crashes involving motor vehicles in 2023, marking the highest number ever recorded.
Schuh flags the political context
E-bike use has surged across the world, combatting congestion while giving citygoers another way of getting around town.
Owning an e-bike is cheaper than owning a car but increased restrictions could threaten their financial accessibility, according to Schuh: “With the economy the way it is in the United States, having a barrier like this just continues to perpetuate the problem of affordability.”
Commentators in the cycling community agree, branding the new laws ‘terrible’ and ‘dangerous’, not least because they group conventional, safe and regulated pedal-assist e-bikes with unlicensed and unrestricted e-bikes.
Action Network campaigners to save low-speed e-bikes have started a petition that has amassed over 5,000 supporters, arguing that the legislation is “not about safety, but about removing a viable alternative to cars from the road.”
It comes amid a forecasted decline in vehicle sales across the US, as the Trump Administration’s tariffs raise prices. As affordability becomes a top concern, Schuh believes the new e-bike restrictions will continue to cement car-centric attitudes in a state known for its automotive retail industry.
“New Jersey has a big working class closely tied to the automotive supply chain,” Schuh says. “This could be a manoeuvre to try to protect the state’s car sales and jobs, while immigrant gig economy e-bike riders are considered the more ‘expendable’ voter demographic.”
Zag Daily approached both the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari, who sponsored the new laws, for clarification on the matter but did not receive a response.
New Jersey is home to several car manufacturers including Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover, Subaru and most recently BMW which opened up headquarters in Woodcliff Lake. The state has also been dubbed the ‘Luxury Car Capital of America’ with research finding luxury cars account for over 30% of the state’s vehicle share.
Implications for delivery riders
Advocacy groups have raised concerns that the law’s insurance requirement will disproportionately affect immigrant and low-income riders who rely on e-bikes for work through the gig economy.
Delivery platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats currently buy a general liability policy that covers the platform against litigation.
The new laws mean riders will not be granted beneficiary status on these policies and will instead need to take out a separate policy in their name, which can be very expensive.
“Delivery riders do this job as a fractional piece of their overall work. Why would they buy an insurance policy just to drive for DoorDash, which will probably cost them between $50 and $200 a month? A policy like this cuts into their income and doesn’t make sense,” Schuh says.
“The law will likely encourage more litigation against delivery drivers because they’re going to have a policy too. So this will add more legal processes, more claims to the system and more burden on everyone.”
Whilst opening up liability, Schuh believes that delivery platforms will inevitably pick up the costs of insuring riders, making it harder to turn a profit.
A similar bill (Assembly Bill AB 371) was passed in California in 2021, which imposed strict insurance requirements on shared micromobility operators. Opponents argued that this was fatal to the state’s bike-share programmes due to the associated costs but the bill has largely remained dormant since its introduction.
Similar concerns over how the laws in New Jersey will be enforced have been raised. “That’s the question,” Schuh says. “Look at AB 371 in California which has not been enforced at all. It’s basically paper. It’s not even a real thing.”
An alternative insurance solution
New Jersey’s e-bike law might be difficult to enforce but there’s no doubt it will hit the cycling sector hard.
Schuh says the new restrictions and requirements will inevitably set back the adoption of cycling in New Jersey, which is already behind neighbouring state New York. He also flags the impact law will have on daily commuters travelling between the two states, especially for delivery platform workers delivering across state lines.
That’s not to say that e-bike insurance is a bad idea. Instead, Schuh proposes an alternative, calling for a liability policy that doesn’t require registration.
“Registration just adds another layer of complexity that will dicincentivise people from buying bikes,” Schuh says. “If you have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles or a service centre to register a $200 bike, you’re going to sell fewer bikes. That’s 100% certain.”
Instead, Schuh argues for a stair-stepped approach where insurers can sell “catch-all” liability policies – covering bike theft and personal liability – directly to consumers without requiring complex registration processes.
As the law moves closer to its implementation date this summer, the industry will be speculatively eyeing New Jersey’s shift from familiar US e-bike regulation toward an untested system. Whether that improves safety or pushes more people towards cars will soon be a question the state answers for everyone.
