RPC response to proposed changes to EAPC regulations

Dear All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling & Walking,

I am writing on behalf of Regent’s Park Cyclists, one of your associate member organisations. We bring together 30+ cycling clubs and 5000+ cyclists who ride in The Regent’s Park in London; our members represent a broad cross-section of bike users. I want to voice our community’s concerns over the Department for Transport’s proposed changes to the regulations that govern electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs).

Current UK law limits EAPCs’ maximum speed, power, and ability to accelerate without pedalling. The DfT’s proposals relax the limits on both maximum power and pedalling requirements. 

Changes to maximum power

The power output of an EAPC motor determines its ability to build and maintain speed. The current legal EAPC limit (250W) already exceeds the abilities of a beginner recreational cyclist and is more-than-sufficient for urban transport; the proposed higher limit (500W) is dangerous and entirely unnecessary in active travel contexts. For reference, the 2022 world record for the greatest distance cycled in one hour (56.8km, 35miles) was achieved at lower power than the DfT’s new EAPC legal limit.

This limit also poses significantly increased safety risks for all road users: more powerful motors not only provide greater bursts of acceleration (requiring more skilled handling) but are also heavier and bulkier (leading to worse outcomes in crashes). These changes seem counterproductive to the proposal’s stated goal of  “making cycling more accessible [...] for anyone who may be older, disabled or have mobility impairments”.

Changes to pedalling requirements

Existing regulation limits the speed of an ‘unassisted’ EAPC to 6km/h, equivalent to walking pace; to exceed this speed, a rider must begin pedalling. In our view, this restriction forms the key distinction between an EAPC (with no licensing requirements) and an electric motorbike (requiring training and licensing). Removing the pedalling requirement blurs this distinction and fuels the ‘anti-cycling’ rhetoric which calls for increased registration and regulation for cycling. This represents a significant negative development in the fight to lower barriers to cycling and active travel.

Other considerations - speed limit tampering

Existing regulations limit EAPCs’ maximum speed to 25km/h. This speed limit is hard-wired via a ‘speed sensor’, equivalent to a car’s speedometer; if the EAPC determines it is travelling above the legal limit, the motor switches off. Unfortunately, these sensors are routinely (and trivially) tampered with, removing the speed ‘cut-off’ mechanism, and enabling high-prevalence urban crime. Luckily, the 250W power limit is much more difficult to bypass, and serves to limit even ‘tampered-with’ EAPCs’ achievable top speed; increasing the legal limit to 500W would significantly raise the speed of these illegal e-bikes, posing increased crash and crime risks for all.

Pause, reassess, reconsider

Our group represents a broad range of bike users: commuters, racers, parents taking their kids to school, and anything in-between. We agree with the DfT that barriers to active travel should be lowered, and encouraging EAPC use is an excellent way to do this. These assisted bikes open up cycling to demographics otherwise not be able to experience the freedom and joy of riding on two wheels. However, we strongly believe that the proposed changes - in their current form - present a setback, rather than a step forward, for cycling in the UK. We urge the DfT to pause, reassess, and reconsider.

Regards,

Sean Epstein

Chair, Regent’s Park Cyclists