More regulation on the use of electric bicycles on Oahu’s public roadways, sidewalks and open spaces is now being gauged by those in the e-bike industry.

Among them, Bill Klehm, chairman and CEO of eBliss Global, which designs and manufactures e-bikes for sale in the United States and Canada, asserts the increase of government regulations over powered bicycles was bound to occur sooner or later.

Klehm, who formerly worked for Ford Motor Co. before moving to the e-bike industry in the early 2000s, compares the impact of modern e-bikes to the impact automobiles first had on society during the early 20th century.

“When Henry Ford and the original entrepreneurs started the auto industry, there were no roads, there were no traffic lights,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by phone. “And so in 123 years, all of a sudden, there’s everything; there’s highways, there’s all that stuff.”

“We’re seeing the same thing happen for e-bikes,” he said.

“As consumers’ tastes change and their need for mobility adjusts, then it’s a complete, natural thing for governments to come in and to make adjustments to legislation and infrastructure to support consumer demand,” he added.

Currently, Hawaii law states all kids under age 16 must wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. A person must be at least 15 years old to ride a “low-speed electric bicycle” registered to an adult household member.

On Oahu, the City Council’s legislation — in the form of Bill 52 and Resolution 199 — seeks more regulation on the use and possession of e-bikes.

Bill 52 says an e-bike is defined as “a bicycle equipped with fully-operable pedals, a saddle or seat for the rider, and an electric motor of less than 750 watts,” while their motors cannot allow the machines to go more than 20 mph.

The measure seeks to revise city laws to include a three-class system adopted in other jurisdictions around the country. Those include:

>> Class 1: An electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 mph.

>> Class 2: An electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 mph.

>> Class 3: An electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 mph.

According to Klehm, his company’s “e-bikes comply with the federal legislation around e-bikes.”

“So our e-bikes have a throttle, they stop at 20 mph — 19.9 — and then the pedal assist (e-bike) stops at just under 28 mph — so 27.9,” he said. “So we follow Class 2 and 3 right now, and it’s what we offer to customers.”

He added, “I think all of the classes make sense.”

“I do think that safety classes for consumers, setting limits on e-bikes,” also could be implemented, he said.

Moreover, he asserts e-bikes are not meant for younger riders.

“I do not believe, personally, that I would let my 12- or 13-year-old ride an e-bike to school. I just wouldn’t do it,” he said. “Again, I think the complexity around the decisions that have to happen, and the way 12- to 14-year-old kids are still learning to make decisions, I think there’s a danger there.”

In Hawaii, Klehm’s Texas-based company directly distributes its main e-bike model — the Always bike line — to Windward Auto Group in Kaneohe.

At its Kahuhipa Street address, Always bikes will be sold under the brand Jerry V’s Island E-Bikes.

Jerry V. Romano, Windward Auto’s owner, said in August his dealership became the first car dealer in Hawaii to add Always e-bikes to its lineup.

“We pride ourselves as an auto group that is for the people, and to accomplish that we have to grow with the needs of our people,” Romano said in a written statement. “E-bikes are growing in popularity every year, and we want to offer our customers the best e-bikes possible.”

According to Klehm, he formed his e-bike company “around the concept that e-bikes are becoming a mass market product.”

“In the United States there’s roughly 2.5 million e-bikes sold this year,” he said. “Just as a frame of reference, Toyota will sell 1.9 million cars this year. So the e-bike in the U.S. is now tipped over into a mass product.”

He added that his company — part of a global group — sells nearly 50,000 e-bikes annually. The price tag for his e-bikes runs from about $3,000 to $4,000.

As far as more regulations on e-bikes, Klehm said he’s prepared for change.

“In general, I’m a fan of some legislation associated with these things,” he said. “We very much believe that people who are 16 years and older are skilled to be able to ride these machines, so we encourage 16 and up.”

He added he also encourages “100% helmet” use.

But Klehm argued that Oahu’s traffic congestion, and issues with some drivers of automobiles on the island, should be of greater concern to local lawmakers than issues surrounding e-bikes.

“I don’t know how many more cars you’re going to fit on those roads in Honolulu,” he said, adding that shorter trips done via e-bike were more sensible and would take more cars off local streets. “And when we talk about a menace, people texting and driving and being distracted while they’re driving is clearly a bigger problem than the e-bikes that are sold. So again, I think it’s all relative, but there’s clearly frustration and emotion involved.”

Meanwhile, local law­makers critical of e-bikes say public safety is a top priority.

Council member Val Okimoto authored Resolution 199, which states e-bikes and “the unlawful use of electric dirt bike motorcycles masquerading as e-bikes on or in the public roads, streets, bicycle paths and lanes, sidewalks, parks, and open spaces has increased dramatically in recent years, with 5,300 e-bikes registered as of March 2023.”

Her legislation says that “while only e-bikes that would be classified in Class 1 may be lawfully operated on Hawaii’s public roadways, e-bikes that operate at speeds exceeding Class 1 and even beyond speeds permitted in Class 3 — ‘out-of-class’ e-bikes — are frequently driven on public roadways.”

During the Council’s Sept. 4 meeting, Okimoto via her resolution called on the state to impose stringent registration and license requirements for e-bikes, to increase fees for e-bikes that operate over 30 mph and to penalize “responsible persons” when a minor operates an e-bike unlawfully, among similar punitive actions.

“This is really to keep our community safe by those who are not following the rules,” she said.