Are Electric Bikes Legal?

Electric bikes or Power Assisted Bikes (PABs), have been getting quite a bad rep lately, to a point where it has been almost taboo to ride an e-bike in Singapore. They are basically the unwanted children of motorbikes — car drivers see them as road hogs, often taking up valuable lane space and pedestrians find them a nuisance and a danger on pathways.

Electric bikes can be a great mode of transport if used wisely. The media does like to highlight the negative consequences of e-bikes. And if we look carefully, these accidents are largely occurring due to excessive speed or lack of safety equipment used by the rider.

No matter how much hype the media has created, e-bikes do have a lot of advantages and they are safe to be used on the road of Singapore. Thousands of commuters travel on e-bikes each day, reducing our public transportation burden.

Just like the new regulations to legalize e-scooters, the authorities recognise the role that electric bikes play in developing a car light urban transportation system hence they have taken action to make commuting on ebikes safer for everyone.

From 1 February 2016, only electric bikes that meet the following revised requirements will be approved and treated like conventional bicycles and exempted from registration with LTA:

• The construction of a PAB must be similar to that of a conventional bicycle;
• The PAB can only be powered by an electric source;
• The PAB must comply with European Standard, EN15194, for electric power assisted cycles;
• The maximum continuous power output of the PAB must not exceed 250 watts.
• The motor power of the PAB can only cut in when the rider starts to pedal;
• The motor power of the PAB must be progressively reduced and finally cut off as the bicycle reaches 25km/h, or sooner, if the cyclist stops pedalling;
• The maximum weight of the PAB must not exceed 20kg.

The infographic below basically sums up the latest regulation on ebikes:

When purchasing from any ebike retailer, be sure to look out for the orange seal below. This will ensure that your ebike will not be confiscated by enforcement officers. This orange seal will be tagged on each ebike model that is approved by the authorities.

Here are a list of LTA approved e-bikes. For more information on electric bike regulations, please visit the LTA website here.