Advocacy Update - TAKE ACTION QLD: Protect Inclusive Cycling in Queensland
EveryBody eBikes fully supports making our footpaths safer by cracking down on reckless e-motorbikes, however the proposed blanket legislation will have devastating consequences for the "Ignored Majority". E-bikes and e-trikes are an essential mobility lifeline to health, well-being, work, and everyday independence.
What are we fighting for?
We believe that legal, pedal-assist ebikes (capped at 25km/h) are safe. They are effectively bicycles that assist people with transport and commuting. While e-motorbikes should be banned, the current Bill gets three things completely wrong:
PROBLEM 1
The Learner's Licence Barrier. The Bill requires all riders to hold at least a learner's licence. This punishes all people, in particular seniors who have surrendered their licences, people with intellectual disabilities and people with conditions that make them medically unfit to drive but able to ride ebikes and etrikes.
OUR SOLUTION: Recognise that legal e-bikes (pedal assist and capped at 25km/h) are not e-motorbikes and remove this licensing requirement.
PROBLEM 2
10km/h Limits on footpaths and shared paths and bikeways. The Bill proposes a 10km/h speed limit on shared paths. Shared paths (like local cycleways and rail trails) have been designed for use by both pedestrians and bike riders. This limit affects every ebike rider across the State.
OUR SOLUTION: Remove the 10km/h limit for designated shared paths and continue with the generally adopted principle of courtesy and respect when riding with other users, including pedestrians and mechanical cyclists.
PROBLEM 3
Trikes are left in a legislative "Grey Area". The Bill requires compliance with a safety standard (EN15194) that is specifically designed for two-wheeled bikes. Because tricycles cannot technically comply by design, vulnerable riders would be forced to navigate a confusing and cumbersome "special circumstances permit" process just to ride conditionally. E-trikes are not motor vehicles; they operate exactly like e-bikes and should be legally treated as bicycles.
OUR SOLUTION: Explicitly identify electric tricycles as legal bicycles if they follow the 3 key power-related criteria of the EN15194 standard where maximum pedal assisted speed 25 km/hr, a throttle up to 10kph and power up to 500W if needed depending on medical condition