Ontario is “actively exploring” stricter regulations for e-bikes, e-scooters and other micromobility devices, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said on Friday.
“We have to ensure that our regulation and enforcement matches that of the technology that is ever evolving so quickly,” Sarkaria said at an unrelated press conference Friday, when asked about stricter and more comprehensive regulations for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Currently, e-moped and e-bike riders don’t need a licence, but do need to be at least 16 years old.
”(Updated regulation) is something that we are actively reviewing. Anything from the e-bike, which we see can reach very high speeds to other modes of transportation that might be electric — scooters and other sorts,” Sarkaria said. “We’re actively exploring that as we move forward over the next couple of months.”
E-scooters, motorized devices that look like a child’s standup kick scooter, are illegal in Toronto. However, riders regularly flout the rules and Toronto police have no authority to seize them.
An enforcement of e-bike and e-scooter rules in September saw Toronto police hand out 3,500 tickets in just three weeks.
The number of e-bike related trauma cases in St. Michael’s Hospital’s ER rose 240 per cent between 2020 and 2024 and e-scooter injuries rose 600 per cent, the Star reported in October.
City council is exploring further “enforcement options” to prevent e-scooters and e-bike riders from using the sidewalks and looking into requiring licensing “motorized micromobility devices.”
