We always liked Ronald Reagan’s depiction of the government’s approach to the economy: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Orange County cities’ approach to the proliferation of e-bikes seems to put a new twist on that saying.
California lawmakers have been promoting e-bike use as an environmentally friendly way to get around. The state started an e-bike incentive program to provide $10 million in subsidies to encourage their purchase. The state continues to boost the number of bike lanes. Yet many cities are cracking down, claiming e-bikes are leading to an increase in accidents and posing a safety hazard to on streets, sidewalks and boardwalks.
Apparently, the new slogan is: If it’s not moving, subsidize it. If it keeps moving, regulate it until it stops moving. We don’t disagree with sensible rules of the road, but we’re put off by some of the hysteria. For instance, at a recent Irvine City Council meeting, the police department revealed data showing there were fewer than five e-bike-related accidents in 2019 – but that number has jumped six-fold this year.
That’s not a particularly compelling data point. The bikes became popular after 2019, when the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders encouraged residents to find ways to get out and about. From 2019 to 2020, e-bike sales soared 145 percent – and have been growing exponentially since then. Obviously, we’ll see more accidents now than four years ago because there are so many more people riding them.
Huntington Beach, which has become a poster child for passing big-government local policies, recently passed “an ordinance … that would curb residents from operating any e-bike or regular bike in an ‘unsafe’ manner by impounding bikes or issuing $400 tickets,” the VoiceofOC reported. Surely, there are less Nanny-ish ways to proceed than massive fines and impoundments. Other cities are toying with tough enforcement of speed limits.
E-bikes are a nifty way to get around. Instead of imposing heavy-handed regulatory solutions, cities need to pass sensible and modest rules that enable their safe use.
