Bensalem Township Council approved amending an ordinance focusing on the improper use of E-bikes and E-scooters on municipal and private property, making them illegal
Council President Edward Tokmajian Jr noted the increased use of E-bikes and E-scooters, with people using them as a way to get around.
“E-bikes are becoming an increasingly common form of transportation. People are using them to get to work, to run errands, to simply get around in the community. I don’t think we should lose sight of that, their a part of transportation, but at the same time we have a responsibility to make sure the way these vehicles are being used is consistent with public safety,” Tokmajian Jr. said
According to PennDOT, there has been an increase in injuries and death from people riding E-bikes and E-scooters. E-bike rider injuries in PA increased 40% in 2024-2025. Even more striking are 12 E-bike rider fatalities in 2025 compared to just two in 2024, officials said,
Tokmajian Jr also pointed out two incidents that happened locally that involved people getting hurt on E-bikes, such as a critical injury that happened to a 5 -year old in Bristol Township in June.
Bristol Borough is also seeing the same issues recently with E-bikes and E-scooters and is now fining parents/guardians of underage riders.
“Our own police department here in Bensalem Township identified some of the behaviors that concern them. In April our police department reported seeing an increase in unsafe E-bike behavior including riders without helmets riding at night without lights, operating in traffic without sufficient experience or simply just being reckless, and multiple people riding on a single device.” Tokmajian said.
The new ordinance would Prohibits E-bikes and scooters on public property, school grounds, playgrounds and or recreational areas owned or operated by Bensalem Township, on private property without the owner’s permission, on any public byway.
Those who didn’t follow the amended ordinance would be subjected to fines of up to $300, officials said.
Council members asked their question to a township official who presented the new ordinance to the council members.
Councilman Joseph Knowles asked what would qualify a bike or E-scooter to be able to be used on the roads.
“It all depends on what type of E-bike or E-scooter.” The township official stated. “If it’s just a regular E-bike they may not need a license. An E-bike is considered something that can’t go over 20 mpr, and is under 750 watts. Anything over that needs a license and you need to be 16 years or older, and that’s a lot of our problems here in the township. They’re younger than 16 and believe me a little parental advisory goes a long way.”
Bristol Borough Chief of Police Joe Moors wheeling an E-Scooter he recently confiscated from an area youngster, Credit: Jeff Bohen
Township officials did make it clear that bikes that go under 20 mph can be used on the bike lane and sidewalks that weren’t in a business district.
“I don’t want to see a kid getting hurt, I don’t want to see an adult hurting a kid where it’s not their fault because the rider is just swinging inside of traffic and you really have to be careful. Hopefully we’re gonna confiscate those and the parents can get fined.” Knowles said.
Councilman Joseph Wenzel Jr. said his only issue with the new ordinance was the fact that E-bikes and E-scooters were not allowed on playgrounds.
“I spent a lot of my time in the spring and summer between PAL and flag football where the kids are riding around and there’s no issues, there’s police there, if we say they can’t be in the playgrounds, even if we give them one playground they can hang out at, I feel that would give them the opportunity to keep them off the roads, cause if we do no playgrounds/recreational centers at all, they’re just gonna keep going out into the streets, and we’re gonna have more kids out on the streets then we already do,” Wenzel Jr said.
He also suggested that Bensalem Police make a video going over safety rules for bikes, skateboards, and E-vehicles to educate kids and young adults on how to ride them safely in the public.
Township officials didn’t say kids couldn’t hang out at playgrounds, just they couldn’t bring their E-bikes to ride on the municipal property.
“We’re not telling them they can’t hang out at the playground, we just can’t have them hanging out with their E-bikes. We’ve had disruptions there over the last couple of summers with the park rangers, we’ve had some encounters with the kids, but if something wants to be taken out of there, that’s above my paygrade, that’s something that will have to be discussed.”
Knowles also made a point that the kids weren’t being driven there by parents, they were driving their E-bikes and E-scooters to the playgrounds, using public roads to get there.
“You have good intentions, but the problem is some of the parents just let the kids go, their gonna drive their scooters and E-bikes to get there. The kids are running rampant.” Knowles said.
“I don’t want to take something away from the children, we have to have a common ground here.” Wenzel said.
Tokmajian brought up an article from the Philadelphia Inquire about the dangers of E-bikes and E-scooters, which referenced and incident in which two 12 year old girls were riding an E-scooter died.
“They go into a story about how two young girls both 12 years old were riding an electric scooter, they fell off into the street where they were struck by an oncoming car. One of the girls died two days later from the accident.”
Before the vote, Wenzel Jr asked how the township was going to enforce fines on younger riders.
Council Vice President Jesse Sloane said if the young riders didn’t want to face a fine, they would follow the rules.
Solicitor Joseph Pizzo said fines would be handled in court, so most likely parents would have to pay them. There’s also a chance that first offenders would have to make up for their crime via community service.
Council unanimously approved amending the ordinance regarding E-bikes and E-scooters.
Editor’s Note: Publisher Jeff Bohen contributed to this story.
Credit: Submitted