PapersOrder
Regulating e-bikes for commercial use
Delivery e-bikes should be treated as commercial vehicles: trained, licensed, insured, identifiable, and open to public reports.
The argument
The paper argues that commercial food-delivery e-bikes are a distinct safety problem from leisure cycling. Riders are paid to go faster, many bikes are said to be illegally modified, and the platforms mostly engage riders as contractors. It says there is currently no requirement for a bell, helmet, registration, insurance, MOT-style test, or rider training, and no comprehensive duty on platforms to check that a bike meets electrically assisted pedal cycle rules.
It places the growth in a wider complaint about “active travel” street design and the Net Zero push out of cars, and cites a fivefold rise in the UK e-bike market in the five years to 2022, plus rising serious injuries. It also claims a significant number of delivery riders are working illegally, and that some bikes are used to move drugs.
The remedy is a licensing regime for any motorised bicycle used to deliver goods, plus a public reporting portal modelled on police dash-cam schemes such as Operation Snap.
What they propose
- 1
Mandatory registration, licensing and taxation of e-bikes used commercially.
- 2
Annual “e-bike for commercial use” training, paid for by the rider, and a licence carried at all times.
- 3
High-visibility outerwear to EN ISO 20471, a helmet showing the rider’s identification number, reflective markings, lights on day and night, and a working bell.
- 4
Front and rear registration numbers, proof of insurance, proof of CE/UKCA certification for battery, frame, motor and conversion kits, and regular safety testing.
- 5
No riding on the pavement except to walk a bike into or out of storage; no parking that blocks pavements, dropped kerbs or disabled access.
- 6
A cap of 12 hours of logged platform work in any 24 hours, and a 30-minute break after six consecutive hours, across all platforms.
- 7
A public portal for photo or video evidence, triaged with AI then reviewed by people. Penalty notices for breaches; a lifetime ban on e-bike use for repeat offenders. The paper says the system could later cover all cycling.
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