NSW to impose minimum age for e-bike riders

New South Wales will impose a minimum age for e-bike riders in a bid to improve the safety of riders and pedestrians.

Under the current rules, there is no age minimum to ride an e-bike, including with a passenger if the design of the bike allows.

The minimum age will be between 12 and 16, to be determined after a review by Transport for NSW.

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A final decision is expected to be made by the government around June.

It follows an announcement earlier this month that NSW police would be seizing and destroying e-bikes that don't meet existing regulations, as part of a crackdown on hooning and anti-social behaviour.

"I think it's a common-sense change," transport minister John Graham said.

"At the moment, it's legal for a primary school kid with no peripheral vision, who can barely lift one of these bikes, to ride it on New South Wales streets and that has to change.

"It's simply dangerous to have kids as young as 10 or 11 on these high-powered bikes.

"We want kids on their bikes, we want them outdoors and off their screens but we don't want them hurting themselves and that's the common-sense approach we're taking here."

He acknowledged there were differences in the transport needs of people in regional and metro areas.

"I'm particularly conscious about the differences between riding in Sydney or riding in regional parts of New South Wales where people might need these to get to school or get around their community," he said.

"We want to take the time to get that detail right."

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NSW will also adopt the European safety standard and any bike deemed illegal will be phased out over a three-year period.

Under this standard, e-bikes must have a maximum power output of 250 watts and power assistance must cut out at 25km/h.

No power assistance is delivered at all after 6km/h if a rider is not pedalling the bike.

The government says the three-year grace period recognises the lifespan of bikes that will not meet the standard, but were bought legally under the former rules.

There are currently about 760,000 e-bikes in NSW.

Bicycle NSW has welcomed the introduction of the European standard.

"It is the gold standard for e-bikes across the world making them safe, of course, compliant and high quality," CEO Peter McLean said.

"We want to see these types of bicycles being the predominant use of e-mobility in Sydney because it's safe for the riders and it's safe for all road users including, of course, pedestrians.

"They're affordable, they're efficient and they're really, really effective in getting you safely from A to B."

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