New rules on electric bikes, scooters headed for Legco

Staff reporters

Lawmakers expect the government to table an amendment bill as soon as the first quarter this year to address the issue of driving electric bicycles and scooters on pedestrian roads.

Police made 467 arrests between January and September last year for illegally using electric mobility devices - EMDs - which was up 70 percent from 267 arrests in the whole of 2023.

EMDs - including electric bikes, scooters, hoverboards and power-assisted pedal cycles - are classified as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Ordinance and must be licensed before they could be used on public or private roads.

"The force will launch operations from time to time and take action against illegal use of electric mobility devices to ensure road safety," police said.

The government said in June last year it was formulating proper regulatory arrangements for EMDs and will submit an amendment bill to the Legislative Council in due course.

Lawmaker Ben Chan Han-pan from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said authorities could table the amendment bill in the first quarter as he called on the government to allow people to ride power-assisted pedal cycles on cycling tracks.

But lawmaker Michael Luk Chung-hung from the Federation of Trade Unions said he is concerned that it is "less likely that people would only use designated tracks and they would ride the devices everywhere."

At a cycling track in Tseung Kwan O, a man surnamed Ho supported introducing laws to regulate EMDs.

"I understand some cyclists ride for their livelihood, but they sometimes ride at very high speeds of at least 30 kilometers per hour, which is very dangerous," Ho said.

A takeaway courier surnamed Chung said for some wage earners like him they have no choice but to use the devices.

Yet he added he would cooperate if the government requires drivers to wear a helmet and drive at a maximum speed of, for example, 25kph.

But another takeaway courier, Chan, said electric bikes and scooters may hit pedestrians at high speeds and should not be legalized.

The Transport Department said in a reply to an inquiry by Sing Tao Daily - sister paper of The Standard - that the quality of EMDs in the market varies.

The department is "studying the regulatory arrangement for the use of EMDs in Hong Kong and associated certification arrangement to ensure their compliance with relevant technical and safety standards," it said.

The department also launched a pilot scheme for sharing the use of electric bikes, scooters and similar devices on the Pak Shek Kok cycle track in March 2023, which concluded without complaints or accidents.