October 2, 2009
It ain't over until it's over but the long awaited 3-year pilot program is now officially over. Blue Avenue is proud to announce that the electric bike market will continue to flourish as the government has decided to allow electric bikes in Ontario with new rules taking effect in October 3, 2009. For more information click here.
April 2009
This Bill was passed to treat and recognise power-assisted bicycles or electric bikes as bicycles on the roads of Ontario. However, no official statements were publicly made regarding the conclusion of the 3-year pilot project and therefore we can only assume that, although Electric Bikes are now recognised in the Road Safety Act 2009, the Electric Bike program is still ongoing and current and that the Electric Bike status may still change. For more information on Bill 126 click here.
October 2006
Effective October 3, 2006, the Province of Ontario began a three-year pilot project to evaluate the use of power-assisted bicycles also known as electric bike, electric bicycle, ebike, e-bike, on roads and highways where conventional bicycles are currently allowed. The pilot is opened to all Ontarians 16 years of age and older and will run for three years. For the duration of the pilot, electric bicycles will be treated as bicycles and must follow the same rules of the road as set out in the Highway Traffic Act that currently apply to cyclists.
There are two exceptions:
Operators must be 16 years of age or older, and
All operators must wear an approved bicycle helmet at all times.
The power-assisted bicycle pilot is authorized by Ontario Regulation 473/06. In this regulation, the legal definition of an ebike refers to the Federal definition of a power-assisted bicycle. For the full definition, please see subsection 2(1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.