E-bike crackdown might have ‘serious unintended consequences’ for tourism

New licence laws will damage Queensland’s tourism economy, with some visitors banned from using Neuron or Lime e-scooters or bikes to travel around destinations such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast, an industry body has warned.

The state government has accepted, in principle, all 28 recommendations of an e-mobility inquiry, with laws set to be introduced into parliament this week.

It will make Queensland one of the most restrictive jurisdictions in the world for e-bikes limited to assistance, only when pedalling, up to 25km/h.

Children younger than 16 will be banned from riding all e-bikes and e-scooters, 10km/h limits would be introduced on all paths and riders would have to hold at least a Queensland car learner’s permit.

“They will be required to be medically fit to drive – this is an important recommendation that will ensure that those who use these devices have the capacity to use them safely,” Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said.

“I acknowledge that will disadvantage some people who currently use these devices and are unable to drive.”

People riding high-powered electric motorbikes – most of which are already banned from being ridden on public roads or footpaths – would have to get a motorbike licence and register them.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Natassia Wheeler has spoken out about the licence component of the proposed laws, arguing a blanket requirement for compliant e-bikes and e-scooters “may have significant unintended consequences”.

Wheeler said the QTIC acknowledged community concern about e-mobility safety and supported proportionate reforms that improved safety and addressed the growing harm associated with illegal and modified devices.

“Many visitors use active and low-emissions transport modes to move around tourism destinations, particularly in high-visitor urban and coastal locations such as Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Cairns and Townsville,” she said.

“Shared e-scooters and legal e-bikes can play an important role in first-and-last-mile transport, local dispersal, access to attractions, and visitor movement within dense tourism precincts.”

Wheeler said a requirement to hold a Queensland driver’s licence would be a barrier for international visitors, temporary visitors and students hoping to use a low-speed and compliant device.

She argued there should be a distinction between compliant e-bikes and e-scooters used appropriately and illegal, modified, high-powered or high-speed devices.

Mickelberg said visitors who held an equivalent licence would be allowed to use them “not dissimilar to how international drivers” drive in Queensland.

In many countries, holding a driver’s licence is less common than in Australia. About one-third of US residents do not have a driver’s licence.

To drive with an international licence in Queensland, you must carry a recognised English translation if it is in another language.

Mickelberg said new fines would be introduced for shared e-scooter companies who did not enforce the under-16s ban, police would be empowered to seize and destroy devices used illegally, and RBTs introduced.

The licence rules are a departure from the norm worldwide, where riders generally do not need licences for low-powered electric bikes.

Queensland welcomed 2.2 million international visitors in the year ending June 2025.

Research from Denmark shows e-bike riders are more likely to follow traffic laws and are more safety-oriented than conventional cyclists, and University of Queensland researchers said legal e-bikes that meet the EN15194 standard are limited to 250 watts – roughly the power an avid cyclist could generate with their body.

“Professional cyclists easily produce well over 400 watts,” they wrote, in a piece in The Conversation.

The licence requirement would make it illegal for children and adults with disabilities and older people who do not hold a car licence to ride a pedal-assist e-bike.

Mickelberg said people with a disability who used mobility devices would still be able to do so. This includes electric wheelchairs.

To get a learner’s licence in Queensland, the applicant must pass a written road rules test and be medically fit to drive.

On the first day of the e-mobility inquiry’s hearings, TMR deputy-director general Geoff Magoffin said: “The department is not aware of any significant safety issues with legal e-bike use; however, we are very concerned about the increasing use of illegal devices”.

The deputy chair of the inquiry, Jonty Bush, also said there was no evidence legal pedal-assist e-bikes were a safety risk.

In response, speaking at a press conference, Mickelberg said there was a “lack of a clear definition in relation to what constitutes an illegal or a legal e-mobility device”.

Later in the press conference, he said the European standard did provide a framework for clarity on what was legal or illegal.

The speed recommendation would apply to all footpaths, including shared paths.

Almost all bicycle infrastructure in Queensland is shared paths, meaning an e-bike commute would take twice as long at the jogging speed of 10km/h versus an average speed of 20km/h.

TMR’s guideline for speed on shared paths says: “a bicycle can become unstable at speeds below 11km/h” and cyclists can travel at speeds between 15-25km/h on well-designed paths with “minimum risk or decrease in amenity to people walking”.

The laws, which will undoubtedly pass due to Queensland’s unicameral parliament, will take effect from July 1, with a six-month transition period.

But Mickelberg said anyone using a device which was already illegal to use in public should not wait until then.

“It’s already illegal, and they can already be held to account,” he said, adding police would have beefed-up powers under the new laws, and would do more enforcement.

The laws would not apply to people riding regular bicycles or joggers, which can easily exceed 10km/h, and are allowed to use roads and paths without a car licence.

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