Statement by Maurice Foley, Deputy Chair, One Bermuda Alliance:
For almost a year, I have consistently raised concerns about electric bikes on Bermuda’s roads. Electric mobility is part of our transportation future, but our laws must evolve alongside the technology to protect riders and everyone who shares our roads.
I first raised the issue publicly in October 2025 and returned to it in July, calling for clearer classifications, licensing, registration, insurance and enforcement. After a 71-year-old woman was struck on a pedestrian crossing by a 15-year-old e-bike rider, I wrote again about the need for action.
This week, the Government acted, and that should be acknowledged. The Minister of Transport confirmed the application of the Auxiliary Bicycles Act 1954 and announced requirements around TCD registration, licensing, insurance and certified helmets, with owners given until October 31 to take the necessary steps towards compliance.
That is progress, but it leaves another important question unanswered: what power of electric bike should a 16 or 17-year-old actually be permitted to operate?
Bermuda already understands this principle when it comes to conventional motorcycles. A young person can qualify to operate an auxiliary cycle from age 16, while motorcycle licensing begins at 18. We also distinguish a 50cc-or-less auxiliary cycle from progressively more powerful motorcycle categories, including 125cc and 150cc machines.
There is a reason for that. A license and insurance do not mean a 16-year-old can simply climb onto a 125cc or 150cc motorcycle. The capability of the machine matters.
Why should electric vehicles be different? A 16 or 17-year-old could become properly licensed, have their e-bike inspected, registered and insured, and wear an approved helmet. But that still does not answer how powerful a machine that young person should legally be permitted to operate.
Where is the electric equivalent of 50cc? This is the gap I believe Bermuda must now address.
Today’s electric two-wheelers range from modest pedal-assist bicycles to fully self-propelled, throttle-operated machines capable of motorcycle-level performance. They cannot sensibly be treated as though they are all the same simply because they run on batteries.
We should not attempt a simplistic conversion by saying a particular wattage automatically equals 50cc. Electric motor power and engine displacement are different measurements. Instead, classification should consider a combination of motor power, maximum design speed, throttle capability, whether pedalling is required, vehicle construction and actual performance.
That would allow Bermuda to establish an electric equivalent of the graduated system we already apply to conventional motorcycles; including determining what class a 16 or 17-year-old may operate and what should be restricted to riders aged 18 and over.
Interestingly, Bermuda has considered this principle before. The 2019 Transport Green Paper recorded a stakeholder proposal that young people aged 16 to 18 could ride a regulated electric pedal cycle instead of an auxiliary cycle. It was not adopted Government policy, but it demonstrates that the relationship between youth licensing and lower-powered electric transport was being discussed seven years ago.
Technology has advanced considerably since then. Our legislation should do the same.
Not every e-bike is a motorcycle
Modernisation also needs to be proportionate. A modest pedal-assist bicycle is fundamentally different from a high-powered throttle-operated machine. We should therefore distinguish between genuine pedal-assist bicycles, self-propelled e-bikes, higher-powered electric auxiliary cycles or e-mopeds, and electric motorcycles or e-motos.
Clear classifications would help everyone. Parents would know what their teenagers can legally operate. Retailers and importers would know what they can bring into Bermuda and how it will be classified. TCD and Customs would have consistent standards, Police would know what they are enforcing, and insurers would understand the category of vehicle they are covering.
Government’s announcement addresses an important part of the problem: enforcement. The next step should be modernisation.
I have proposed to the OBA leadership that we consider developing legislation during this parliamentary session to modernise Bermuda’s classification and regulation of electric bicycles and other electric two-wheelers. The appropriate power and speed thresholds should be determined through technical consultation rather than arbitrary political numbers.
This does not need to be partisan. It is an opportunity for Government and Opposition to work towards legislation that reflects the technology actually operating on Bermuda’s roads while ensuring that regulation remains proportionate.
If Bermuda already understands why a 50cc auxiliary cycle is different from a 125cc or 150cc motorcycle, our laws should be equally capable of recognising the difference between a modest electric bicycle and a high-powered electric motorcycle.
A licence matters. Insurance matters. But the power of the machine matters too.
