Following reports of dangerous and illegal operation of e-bikes on Oahu, the city and county of Honolulu formed a task force to study how best to regulate the controversial machines and their often-underage users.

So far, the group, made up of the city Department of Transportation Services, the Honolulu Police Department, the state Department of Transportation, as well as other city-level agencies and the advocacy group Hawaii Bicycling League, has begun reviewing helmet rules, age restrictions and other legal issues related to e-bikes, city officials say.

Having convened two of three private meetings in October, DTS Director Roger Morton says the task force understands there are worrying issues with the e-bikes now being used on the island’s roads.

And in the first nine months of 2024, he added, an alarming trend has also emerged.

“We had 180 e-bike accidents, which is a high number of accidents for nine months in a row,” he told the City Council’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

To decrease risks for younger riders and the general public, Morton said the task force has six “major issues” to consider, including variable helmet laws.

“Right now they vary from 16 to 18 years old, when you have to wear a helmet,” he said. “The group is toying with the idea of ​​making all devices uniform,” where all cyclists 18 years old or younger would be required to wear a helmet.

The group also studied definitions of “classic electric bicycles” connected to a three-class system, which classifies electric bicycles by speed and equipment components such as accelerators, adopted in other jurisdictions around the country, he said.

“But there are also other vehicles,” he said. “Some of them could be classified as electric dirt bikes or even electric motorcycles that, frankly, right now can’t be licensed for use on the roads.”

He added: “These devices will go up to 70mph and are very different to other types of e-bikes.”

“So one of the things the task force will try to do is try to define the different types of devices, including what we’re starting to call ‘out of class’ devices, the ones that are higher speed. ”Morton said. “And we’ll take a look at licensing requirements.”

Another issue is determining the appropriate places for the use of electric bicycles.

“Under current law, they are not allowed to operate on sidewalks,” Morton said. “But looking at whether a multi-use path is appropriate or whether a bike lane or bike lane is appropriate.”

“Those are issues that really aren’t defined, and we’re going to try to define them and make it clear where these vehicles can be legally operated,” he said.

Age requirements are also a concern.

“There is a requirement to be 15 years old or older,” he said. “In some cases, some states treat Class 1s differently than Class 2s or 3s, and we will continue to look at those issues.”

The behavior of cyclists is also being reviewed.

“Issues related to speed and reckless driving, such as wheelies, reckless behavior and stacking of multiple vehicles,” Morton said. “Those are problems we see all the time. “We all see them on the street, but there is kind of a gray area in our ordinances and in our revised bylaws.”

E-bike registration and operations are being explored, “and whether or not we should change our registration laws for some of the vehicles,” he said.

According to Morton, parental education and responsibility is the sixth topic the task force is investigating.

“There was a discussion about the need for prior information about what the laws really are, particularly with our keiki and our youngest children in mind,” he said. “We see 12- and 13-year-old children being cited for illegal vehicle operation.”

He added: “In some cases, I think we need to do a better job of educating parents and others about what the laws are” regarding e-bikes.

Morton said the e-bike task force will host an industry day meeting on Tuesday.

“And we have invited people who are involved in this industry of selling vehicles or leasing them to come and share their opinions with us,” he said.

Additionally, the city will host “a virtual public meeting” on Nov. 14 to allow the public to “express their opinions on these new devices,” he said.

The final meeting of the task force will be held on November 8, he said.

“We are committed to trying to provide some type of recommendations by the time we have the transportation committee meeting on November 19,” Morton added.

Those recommendations relate to House Bill 52, which seeks to review existing municipal laws regarding the use and possession of electric bicycles.

The measure, introduced by Council members Augie Tulba and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and drafted in collaboration with the Hawaii Cycling League, passed the second of three readings at the Oct. 9 Council meeting.

Dos Santos-Tam said he hopes to have House Bill 52 finalized by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Morton said he heard from the DOT about their respective plans to offer recommendations to the state Legislature “for changes in state law” related to e-bikes.

“And we’ve tried to commit to them (that) by mid-November we would be in a position to also talk to our state partners about what this task force came up with,” he added.

He said the final meeting of the Council will be on December 11, “and we are trying to present this information to the Council so that at its final meeting final action can be taken on” Bill 52.

During Council questions, Council member Calvin Say asked Morton if he considered an e-bike “a vehicle.”

“I’m just trying to get coordination that if it’s a vehicle, why don’t we go see the Division of Motor Vehicles?” Say asked. “They levy the tax on the weight of the vehicle and depending on the weight of that particular vehicle… you get a different source of revenue.”

To that, Dos Santos-Tam said that beyond House Bill 52 there were possible opportunities under future Council action “to look at some of the registration fees” in the city and county.

“Some of them are as low as 50 cents, which costs us more to mail someone a new label than we collect at the 50-cent rate,” Dos Santos-Tam added.

Morton noted that at this time the city only handles new registration fees. “Right now we don’t charge annual fees for bikes,” he said.

During public comment, Alvin Yoshinaga, an Oahu resident and longtime bicycle commuter, said his normal route along King Street in Honolulu has changed.

“Pedal bikes like the ones I use now are a minority of the devices I see on cycle routes,” he told City Hall. “I say devices, not bikes, because, in fact, what’s left on cycling routes, besides electric bikes, are all kinds of things, like electric skateboards, all kinds of electric things.”

“Therefore, any type of regulation that is developed will have to cover all of these various devices, in addition to the devices that have not yet appeared,” he added.