San Mateo County scopes e-bike ordinance

Maa was joined by Bob Mittelstaedt, an e-bike advocate, San Mateo County Sheriff Ken Binder and county leaders to address what Maa described as the “growing epidemic” of e-bike misuse. 

“[The death] draws attention to the fact this is a crisis, and it is incumbent on us to do something serious about it,” Supervisor Jackie Speier said. 

Speier hosted the town hall with Supervisor Ray Mueller to share a draft ordinance regarding electric conveyance devices that highlights existing state law, sets local regulations that fill any gaps and establishes enforcement provisions. 

The ordinance remains in its preliminary draft stage and will be informed by further discussions with law enforcement agencies and local municipalities; the ultimate goal is to spearhead a restrictive ordinance that can be replicated and adopted by cities through San Mateo County, Mueller said. The county has jurisdiction over unincorporated areas.

As the ordinance gets finalized, it will be critical that county leaders and safety advocates approach restrictions on e-bikes with a unified voice, Mueller said. 

“If every city and every area goes their own way, we’re going to lose the messaging,” Mueller said. “One unified action. … That’s what I hope you leave with from today.” 

The need to establish strict parameters around e-bike safety and regulations — and education about the distinctions between what is legal and illegal — is growing in urgency, Speier said. 

“With this increase of e-bikes in our communities, we are seeing more injuries,” Speier said. “People are getting hurt, and hurt badly.” 

An increase in popularity of e-bikes in the last five years has correspondingly resulted in an increase in e-bike-involved actions, Maa shared. There is a 37% increase in chances of death for serious accidents involving e-bikes, compared to traditional pedal bicycles, he said. 

E-bikes are often divided into three classifications of regulation, but some manufacturers are selling products that can easily shift between categories, which may affect their legality. 

Sheriff Binder shared at the town hall the effort his deputies are undertaking to address the safety concern in unincorporated areas of the county and contracted cities. In 2025, there were 15 incidents relating to e-bikes, and that number has only grown in recent years, he said. 

Getting law enforcement agencies to have consistent regulations and laws to enforce will be necessary in addressing the safety issue countywide, Binder said. 

Redwood City Councilmember Isabella Chu was one of around 50 in attendance at the town hall. As a proponent of alternative methods of transportation, Chu acknowledged the risk factor of letting children use a transportation device with a “powerful motor.” 

“If you give a child a powerful motor, they’re going to kill themselves, their friends and other people,” Chu said. 

Bans of e-bikes that can be augmented to go faster than permitted should be made at school sites, and manufacturers should be held accountable, Chu said. While enforcement will be necessary, Chu said she hopes it is not a means to overpolice. 

“I am very mindful, I don’t want their behaviors criminalized or punished, I just want them to reach adulthood, I want their frontal lobe to develop,” Chu said. 

Next steps will include refining the language of the ordinance and ultimately returning to the Board of Supervisors with a clear path on how to address the safety issue. 

“This is complicated, but it doesn’t have to be complicated,” Speier said. “We can’t look away from this. There is an outcry in our communities to do something, and I strongly agree we need to do that.”