The BC Supreme Court has come down with a ruling that could cause some confusion when it comes to the B.C. government’s attempts to encourage more use of electric-powered scooters and other "micromobility devices," like Segways.
The Ministry of Transportation was planning a pilot project this summer to allow the use of a range of e-mobility devices, including e-scooters on city roads and streets without requiring a licence or insurance.
One point of confusion is what exactly is an e-scooter. Since a motor scooter looks like a small motorcyle, some might call some of the latest versions of electric bikes e-scooters, since they look more like a motor scooter than a bicycle. Even the courts have referred to them as "electric scooters."
But the provincial government considers an e-scooter the kind that you stand on -- not the kind that you ride. It refers to any two-wheeled form of transport that may be assisted by an electric motor an e-bike -- even those that look more like a motorcycle.
The B.C. government planned to exempt some e-mobility devices from rules that forbid them from roads and sidewalks this summer as part of a pilot project aimed at promoting them as first- and last-mile solutions for people use use public transit.
Communities that wanted to participate were to sign up for the pilot project by March 6. The Ministry of Transportation says that the pilot projects are still planned for this summer.
Motor-assisted cycles (i.e. bicycles that have battery powered electric motors) are already exempt from the Motor Vehicles Act, insofar as they don't require an operator's licence or insurance.
But there is now some question as to what fits in the definition of an e-bike.
At the end of April, Ali Moussa Ghadban, who challenged a ticket he received in 2018 for riding an electric bike without a driver’s licence and insurance, lost his case, when a BC Supreme Court judge upheld a provincial court fine that police had issued him.
E-bikes (i.e. bicycles with electric motors that provide assistance to human muscle power) do not require licences and insurance.
Ghadban was ticketed in 2018 for riding a Motorino XMr, which looks a lot like a motorcycle than a bicycle.
And in fact, Ghadban admitted that, though the "bike" does have pedals, he had never used them. In other words, the Motorino XMr can operate as a fully mechanized vehicle.
In his recent ruling, Justice Robert Jenkins disqualified Ghadban’s Motorino XMr as being an exempt motor assisted cycle (MAC), based its size, as well as its function, saying that “quite apart from the discrepancy related to wheel size, I would disqualify it as a MAC for the simple reason that it does not function in accordance with the intention of the legislation pertinent to MACS.
“Arguably, the Motorino XMr is in essence an electric scooter that is capable of being pedaled, rather than a “cycle” that is assisted by electric propulsion. That is, its primary mode of propulsion is an electric motor. The functions of the pedals, while not decorative are limited in application.”
But according to Jenkins' judgement, Ghadban appears to have asked ICBC about insurance, only to be told the XMr is classed as an e-bike, and is therefore exempt from insurance requirements. To qualify as an e-bike, the MAS must have a power output of 500 watts or less.
"They will not insure it because it is a 500 watt," Ghadban testified, according to the court ruling.
Asked for clarification on the vehicle class, ICBC referred Business in Vancouver to the ministry of Public Safety.
In a web posting, Motorino says the judgement is simply “wrong,” and says Jenkins has misinterpreted the Motor Vehicles Act. It’s not clear whether the decision will be appealed, however.
(This story has been updated with a clarification from the provincial government on what devices are included in its pilot project.)
