E-bikes are here to stay

E-bikes have rapidly become part of daily life for our Northern Beaches community, offering young people independence, cutting traffic congestion, and supporting a shift to cleaner, more active transport. But alongside the benefits, we’re also seeing real concerns about safety for both riders and pedestrians, shared spaces, and gaps in regulation. 

I believe we can strike the right balance: protecting the freedom and sustainability benefits e- bikes bring, while making sure pedestrians feel safe, parents have confidence their kids are protected, and riders are better supported. 

It’s safe to say these bikes are everywhere on the Beaches, lining the entrance of Avalon Woollies, whizzing around the bends of Narrabeen Lake and stacked with kids heading home along the Dee Why foreshore. 

The numbers back this up: in 2017, just 9,000 e-bikes were imported into Australia; in 2023-24, there were more than 260,000. Locally, a Narrabeen bike shop reported that he sells four fat-tyre bikes for every standard commuter bike, mostly to teenagers. 

I know this is an important issue to just about everyone as I hear people talking about it everywhere, in queues at the supermarket, at local cafés, at my recent retirement village meet up, even the school kids I meet with. Politicians of all stripes agree that greater regulation is needed. The Northern Beaches has one of the highest concentrations of e-bikes in NSW, so we have an opportunity to take a lead on the required reforms, just as we have for vaping regulations and rooftop solar uptake. 

There are simple changes that can be made at both the state and federal levels of government. That’s why I’ve teamed up with Jacqui Scruby, the state Member for Pittwater, to ensure that we can achieve effective regulatory changes. At the federal level it means tightening up the types of bikes that can be imported into Australia, and at the state level, it means better regulation and policing of e-bikes. 

In 2021, under the Morrison Government, e-bikes were reclassified as bicycles, opening the door for the importation of e-bikes that can be easily modified to exceed legal speed limits. So, my priority, from the federal perspective, will be to push for stronger safety standards and import regulations to make sure the bikes our kids are riding don’t exceed speed and power limits, due to relaxed import regulations. 

At the state level, changes can be made to introduce footpath speed limits, ensuring adherence to road rules and the wearing of helmets, and the possible rollout of a student bicycle licencing programme in local schools. 

E-bikes are a wonderful form of transport if used safely, but it’s up to governments to make sure the laws and regulations keep up with this new form of transport to ensure the safety of riders, pedestrians and drivers. It also means investing in more infrastructure to support cyclists to be able to commute safely, separated from both pedestrians and cars. 

I’ll be taking this issue forward both in Parliament and locally. As always, I love to hear your thoughts. Email me at sophie.scamps.mp@aph.gov.au or send me a DM on Instagram @drsophie4mackellar