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April 21, 2015
The Honorable Jim Frazier
State Capitol, Room 3091
Sacramento, CA 95814-4900
RE: AB 1096 (Chiu): Vehicles: Electric Bicycles - SUPPORT
Dear Chairman Frazier:
The California Bicycle Coalition is pleased to sponsor Assembly Bill 1096, which will clarify the
definition of electric motor-assisted bicycles and help to make bicycling accessible to more users, on
behalf of our network of local bicycle advocacy organizations with aggregate dues-paying membership of
over 30,000 people who support our mission of enabling more bicycling. Our goal is to triple bicycling
by 2020 for safer, healthier, and more prosperous communities for all Californians, and AB 1096 is a
positive step toward that goal.
Electric bikes are quickly becoming the “vehicle of choice” for thousands of Californians and can
especially benefit people new to cycling who may be discouraged from riding a traditional bicycle due to
limited physical fitness, age, disability or convenience. The electric assistance of e-bikes can enable
ridership by senior citizens, parents with children, people with disabilities, and people whose trips involve
steep hills or whose work commutes are within the 5-20 mile range and who might traditionally drive.
Electric bikes use green battery technology and would be an important addition to California’s growing
energy-efficient transportation system.
AB 1096 defines three specific classes of e-bikes: bikes with a top assisted speed of 20 mph that must be
pedaled to operate; those with a top assisted speed of 20 mph that can be operated without pedaling; and
bikes with a top assisted speed of 28 mph. By regulating these bikes differently than mopeds, AB 1096
will enable a reexamination of the access restrictions imposed on users of e-bikes on bicycle paths, where
appropriate and safe. Also, by eliminating ambiguity in the regulations, AB 1096 will abet the fastgrowing electric bike industry in California, where the headquarters of the largest national companies are
located. Clarifying the definition of and updating the regulations around low-speed electric bicycles is
critical to the expansion of their use, and to our goal of enabling more bicycling for the health, safety, and
prosperity of all Californians.
We respectfully urge you to support AB 1096.
Sincerely,
!
Dave Snyder
Executive Director
1017 L Street, #288 | Sacramento CA 95814 | 916.251.9433 | www.calbike.org
Enabling more bicycling for a safer, healthier and more prosperous California