Driver’s licences for e-bikes ‘drawn from North Korean playbook’

Anyone riding a legal e-scooter or e-bike would be forced to have at least a learner driver’s licence, and children under 16 would be banned from the devices entirely, if foreshadowed recommendations from a Queensland parliamentary inquiry come into effect.

The rules would be a departure from the norm across Australia and worldwide, where riders generally do not need licences for low-powered maximum 250-watt electric bikes.

An exception is North Korea, which requires people riding bicycles to have passed a road safety test at their local police station and display a registration plate.

Queensland parliament’s e-mobility inquiry was due to report by March 30, but may report as early as this week after its nine-month probe.

Concerns about e-scooter injuries, and the deaths of two boys in electric motorbike crashes on the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, added pressure on the Crisafulli government to take action.

But the recommendation to introduce licences has been swiftly condemned by cycling advocates, including the Brisbane CBD BUG, who said it was “drawn from the North Korean authoritarian’s playbook”.

“The wackiness of this licensing proposal is obvious from the fact that you don’t need to hold a learner’s or driver’s licence to ride a bicycle, which can travel faster than the 25km/h limit at which the motors of legal e-bikes and e-scooters stop assisting,” the group said.

Introducing a licence requirement and banning under-16s would mean two out of three members of the Wray family could not ride their legal e-bikes.

Luke, 13, uses his e-bike to tackle big hills, ride to the park, catch up with friends and get to school.

“If the under-16s ban is put in place they will want to be driven around,” his dad, Aaron, said.

“They love the ability to get up hills without problem, the freedom it gives them, and it supports them getting exercise.”

Aaron Wray was a lifelong bicycle rider until he bought an e-bike for his commute after a serious knee injury.

Rachel, who has never held a licence, said the changes would stop their family from going on social rides.

“I think it is totally unfair to prevent people riding an e-bike just because they choose not to drive a car,” she said.

Bicycle Queensland advocacy director Andrew Demack said the requirements were a blunt response that put the cost burden onto people who have chosen not to own a car.

“Discouraging active transport is the opposite of what cities are doing around the world to fight congestion,” he said.

Richard Herklots, from EveryBody eBikes, said many older customers or people who lived with a disability – and did not have a driver’s licence – were interested in e-bikes or e-trikes.

“Having to have a driver’s licence seems to defeat the whole purpose,” he said.

“The whole point of having legal e-bikes is they are treated as a bicycle, and therefore you don’t need a driver’s licence.”

International tourists would presumably need to have an international driver’s licence, or pass a Queensland driving test, before hiring one of Brisbane’s shared e-scooters or bikes.

About one in five Queenslanders aged 16 or older do not hold a car driver’s licence.

To be used in public in Queensland, an e-bike must be predominantly pedal-powered, with an electric motor providing assistance only, up to 250 watts, and the motor must cut out at 25km/h.

It is already illegal to ride high-powered e-motorbikes on public roads in Queensland, regardless of a person’s age. They are only legal on private property.

It is not illegal to sell a high-powered electric motorbike in Australia, but the federal and state governments agreed to reinstate references to the European standard, EN15194.

Queensland law currently says 12-year-olds can only ride e-scooters under supervision before being allowed to ride solo from 16 years old.

There are no current age restrictions to ride a bicycle or e-bike in Queensland, but New South Wales is considering raising the minimum age for e-bike riders to between 12 to 16 years.

In December, senior Queensland police said there was no need for users to register legal e-bikes or scooters, but classing them as motor vehicles would help unlock more powers to deal with their use on roads.

The Queensland government has three months to respond to the recommendations.

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