Under the new regulations, all e-bikes must be registered and insured, whether they are low-speed e-bikes that require pedaling and can't exceed 20 miles per hour, or high-speed bikes, called motorized bicycles or e-motos, that can go up to 28 miles per hour.
Riders will need to be at least 15 years old and they'll need a motorized bicycle license to do so. People 17 and older can ride an e-bike using a driver's license.
The New Jersey law treats all e-bikes as the same, whereas most other states that regulate e-bikes tend to focus on e-motos when it comes to license and insurance requirements. The slower pedal-assist bikes face a patchwork of regulations across the country with some restrictions on where they can go. By requiring insurance for the pedal-assist bikes people use for exercise and commuting, New Jersey now has some of the toughest regulations in the country for e-bikes and cycling enthusiasts across the country fear their states might follow suit.
The new regulations mark a dramatic shift in how New Jersey sees e-bikes. It was only in 2019 that lawmakers, including Murphy, touted them as an alternative to cars with the potential to cut emissions and congestion in the state, allowing them to operate on streets, highways, and bicycle paths.
Introduced in the legislature in November, the bill with e-bike restrictions traveled quickly across both chambers as lawmakers felt moved to action by fatalities in the state, including that of a Scotch Plains 13-year-old boy who collided with a landscaping truck while riding his e-bike in September and died.
"It is clear that we are in an age of increasing e-bike use that requires us to take action and update regulations that help prevent tragedies from occurring," Murphy said Monday.
This is a point that even the most ardent critics of the now-law have long agreed with. It's been six years since the last update to e-bike laws and they agree there are reckless riders abound.
If New Jersey Facebook groups are any indicator, the law has plenty of supporters, sick of fast e-bikes taking up sidewalk space and e-motos zipping through residential neighborhoods.
Ocean City Mayor Jay A. Gillian said in a statement Tuesday that the city had long called for the change.
"Nobody likes more red tape, but the benefits of the new law far outweigh the inconvenience of the new registration requirements," he wrote.
Still, cycling advocates maintain the law is creating an unnecessary insurance requirement on a slew of people, such as tourists going down the Shore with their low-speed e-bike, delivery drivers, and people who use pedal-assist bikes for exercise.
Critics worry the law isn't actually addressing some of the main issues plaguing the industry, such as misleading advertisements marketing e-motos as e-bikes and the sale of modification hardware that makes bikes go faster.
State Sen. President Nicholas Scutari, whose district includes Scotch Plains, introduced the bill in November arguing that the increase in e-bikes created dangers for riders, motorists, and pedestrians.
"Requiring registration and licensing will improve their safe use and having them insured will protect those injured in accidents," he said Monday.
The 2019 e-bike laws did include insurance requirements for e-motos, which had to be registered and titled with New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, but cycling advocates say these have never been enforced.
Debra Kagan, executive director of the New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition, said she's asked for state data on e-moto registration and there doesn't seem to be any.
The MVC did not immediately respond to a request asking for e-moto registration data.
A fiscal analysis of the Office of Legislative Services anticipated an increase in administrative costs for the MVC to update its technology systems, communications, and to prepare an annual registration report for all e-bike classes. It did not give an estimate of how much that could cost the state and the law comes with no money attached.
"Now this new legislation will require that all e-bikes, even the lowest speed e-bikes that don't have throttles, would require licensing and registration, and there is no system and no funding to implement that across the state there," said Kagan.
The new law, critics add, will also carry a negative economic impact for the state, despite the expected fees the Office of Legislative Services says will be collected through registrations and eventual penalties for violations.
While low-speed e-bikes can certainly exceed $2,000, nowadays budget models can start at around $400, making them a suitable affordable transportation alternative.
Patrick Cunnane, who sits on the board of directors of trade organization People for Bikes and is an adviser to a bike shop in Gloucester County, worries that may no longer be the case for many with the new added costs of registration and insurance.
Shore town boosters and small bike rental businesses also feel threatened, said Cunnane. He said it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that the ability to travel on e-bikes could be what tips the scales between a stay in Ocean City, New Jersey or Ocean City, Maryland or the Delaware beaches
"It's just crazy for New Jersey to isolate themselves from an activity that's really a lot of fun and safe," he said.
Niclas Elmer, owner of Tuckahoe Bike Shop, which has a handful of locations in Atlantic and Cape May counties, said even as the threat of added regulation loomed, parents skipped out on buying their children low-speed e-bikes.
"It was hard for us because we couldn't give a straight answer [regarding regulations]," said Elmer, who's been in the retail business for more than 20 years.
Further worrying Elmer is the status of bike rentals, a key part of his business model. He doesn't know if these will be exempt from the new laws.
To Elmer and others, cycling advocates say the fight over e-bike regulations is not over.
Cunnane said People for Bikes has already been in touch with Gov. Mikie Sherrill's administration on the matter. The hope is that in the year the state has to set its new registration framework, advocates will be able to influence new legislation that walks back some of the restrictions.
Cunnane was encouraged by the comments of the legislators who supported the law. They clearly want to tackle what they perceive to be a large problem, he said. Cycling advocates are not against all regulation, they simply want more targeted ways to address safety concerns.
"We think we can really help make it better," he said.
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