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Young teens can finally ride e-bikes legally, thanks to legislation that just passed the Oregon Senate last night. The transportation bill, House Bill 4007, passed with 28 ayes, two excused absences, and zero dissenters after its third reading March 5.
The bill lowers the age for riding a Class 1 e-bike from 16 to 14. Class 1 e-bikes have a motor that kicks in when the rider is pedaling and tops out at speeds of 20 mph. The age for riding Class 2 and 3 bikes, which both have throttles, remains age 16.
Megan Ramey is the Safe Routes to School manager for the Hood River County School District. She helped work on the legislation with the Oregon Micromobility Network, an organization that advocates policy changes for, essentially, small things with wheels, like bicycles, scooters and skateboards. To her, the legislation is a win.
“I can now talk to 14-year-olds about how to safely ride Class 1 e-bikes,” she says. “It opens up a whole world of educational opportunities for that age group.”
Not only does it further Ramey’s options in the classroom, she hopes the new law will inspire teenagers to consider riding e-bikes as their primary mode of transportation rather than cars. Her own teenage daughter falls into that camp.
“I see it as potentially life-changing for teenagers who may choose an e-bike for transportation rather than getting a driver’s license. And that’s really positive for this generation.”
The bill also recognizes there are e-motos being marketed and disguised as e-bikes on the market and takes steps to rein those in. It sets the speed limit for legal e-bikes at 28 mph, and stores that sell bikes that go faster than that can be fined $250.
E-moto enthusiasts have also been known to hack into their e-bike’s computer and increase the speed governor to go faster than the bike was designed to go. Those e-motos are now considered an “out-of-class, modified e-bike,” Ramey says.
The transportation bill also has ramifications far beyond the realm of e-bikes. The legislation directs the Oregon Department of Transportation to launch a new, five-year pilot program to let trucks haul more milk on certain routes—up to 129,000 pounds at a time. Also in Salem this week, legislators are scrambling to close a $289 million gap in ODOT’s 2025-27 budget. Safe Routes to School, the program that funds efforts to make it easier for kids to walk or bike to school, stands to lose $17 million.
