Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the road safety and crime prevention benefits of introducing compulsory number plates for motor-assisted cycles.

“Motor-assisted cycles” or e-bikes as they are otherwise referred to, are only road-legal where they comply in full of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983. This includes their maximum assisted speed being limited to 15.5mph.

Where the above regulations are not complied with, the e-bike is treated as a motor vehicle. This means it must be approved and registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, as a well as being taxed and insured. It must therefore have a compulsory number plate in order to be legally ridden on the road as a motor vehicle.

It would not be practical to fit compulsory number plates to e-bikes which are road-legal in their own right. The Department previously considered the case for such a system for of all cyclists and concluded that the costs and complexities of introducing it would far outweigh the benefits.