Riverside Council Sends E-Bike Ordinance To Committee For Further Review

The Riverside City Council Tuesday unanimously decided to hold off on amending city code to add regulations on e-bikes, opting instead to have the ordinance further reviewed by a council-led committee. Councilmember Philip Falcone was absent. 

“I want to make sure that we’re not banning e-bikes from the Santa Ana River Trail,” Councilmember Sean Mill, who worked on the ordinance, said during the September 22 meeting. “We need to be mindful of the fact that there are pedestrians that are using these paths, and we should make sure that they too can safely enjoy recreational opportunities in our city.”

Council members Chuck Conder and Mill said they worked for months, alongside city staff and the Riverside Police Department (RPD), to bring forward the new restrictions due to rising safety concerns related to electric-powered bikes and scooters. 

There have been over 200 documented complaints of unsafe e-bike riding this year, according to RPD, alongside a slew of complaints about teenagers unsafely operating the vehicles. The department said new regulations must be adopted so officers have the power to crack down on unsafe use. 

“We’re not trying to prohibit the legal use by responsible people, responsible adults, responsible youth,” Conder said during the meeting. “But we are trying to protect the health and safety of our citizenry.” 

The council’s discussion came one month after RPD officers responded to an accident involving two 14-year-olds riding an e-scooter and e-moto. RPD Det. Steven Espinosa said the teens, who were struck by a vehicle, had since died from their injuries. 

Data released by the Riverside University Health System showed there has been a countywide spike in e-bike related emergency room visits, jumping from 224 in 2023 to 958 in 2025. The county’s healthcare network added there had already been at least 416 incidents reported as of July 9.

And while the request for additional regulations in Riverside came long before last month’s accident, Espinosa said the fatal crash has only added more urgency to the department’s growing concerns.

The proposed ordinance would have added several safety guidelines for operating an e-conveyance, defined as any electric bike, motorized scooter or any other electric-powered device designed to convey people with the exception of assistive mobility devices used by people with disabilities. 

Riders would have also been required to follow traffic laws, including not riding on sidewalks, and minors would have been required to wear a helmet. Those riding a speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle would be required to wear a helmet regardless of age. Safety equipment, like reflectors and lights for riding at night, would also be required. 

The proposed ordinance would have also prohibited the use of e-bikes in parks, on any trail including the Santa Ana River Trail and from all city-owned parking lots. It would have also  restricted the use of off-road electric bikes on any public area, except for areas designated for off-roading. 

If a minor was caught violating the rules, the ordinance would have allowed police to hold the child’s parents or guardians responsible and make the child complete a safety program. The fine would have been dependent on the infraction’s severity, according to RPD, but could have gone up to $1,000. 

Many of the safety regulations mirrored city and state rules put in place for bicycles, Mill said, and would help the city hold reckless riders accountable. 

Mill and Conder, however, said the language about the Santa Ana River Trail was not supposed to be part of the proposal, ultimately remaining due to a miscommunication. Conder said he intended for it to ban riding on any walking trail and several council members added they could also include exceptions for other trails within their wards.

“There’s certain parts in town [where] it just makes perfect sense for them to be there,” Mill said. “I do think we’re going to need to figure out what those carve-outs are.”

The proposed ordinance is set to be reviewed by the Safety, Wellness and Youth Committee, of which both Mill and Conder are members. 

Riverside Bicycle Club president Gregory Marrujo told The Riverside Record he supported the council’s decision to further revise the ordinance. Some of his group’s older members use e-bikes to help participate in the group rides, he said, and was concerned that the broad language would have punished his responsible riders for the actions of reckless youth. 

“You see all the other folks going around riding responsibly, all age groups, and they’re not doing 30, 40, 50 miles an hour,” Marrujo said. “So it’s basically reckless behavior by a few, and this is an overreaction to that.”