Safety advocates pushing for crackdown on illegal 'e-motos' at Bay Area schools

What started as a crusade to allow e-bikes on bicycle trails in Marin County years ago has evolved into a mission to crack down on 'e-motos' and make roads safer for Bob Mittelstaedt.  

As a volunteer for Safe Routes to School and founder of E-bike Access, Mittelstaedt visits school campuses across the Bay Area to track the rising number of e-motos. 

"This doesn't even have a class 2 e-bike label on it. It doesn't pretend to be an e-bike. It's an e-motorcycle. Start to finish," said Mittelstaedt. 

It's illegally modified e-bikes, and "e-motos", he and others describe as illegal electric motorcycles that can go from zero to 40 or even 50 plus miles per hour in seconds, that are causing safety issues on school campuses, sidewalks and roads. 

"This is like driving a motor vehicle without a driver's license and without DMV plates," said Mittelstaedt. 

As students commute to school using e-bikes, some legal and others not, regulating them has become a challenge for law enforcement and school districts.   

In the South Bay, the Menlo Park City School District recently banned anyone under 16 from bringing e-bikes capable of exceeding 20 miles per hour or operating without pedaling onto campus. 

"The primary reason for doing this is student safety," said Kristen Gracia, Menlo Park City School District Superintendent. 

School officials believe the new rules will curb the number of e-bike-related accidents and illegal e-bikes. 

"It creates a very predictable situation, and one that our district is trying to avoid," said Gracia. 

"We're not talking about the kind of accidents you get when you're riding a regular bicycle, a scraped knee. We're talking about brain trauma, multiple broken bones, internal injuries, you know, the serious stuff, the kind of stuff you get when you're in a motorcycle accident," said Mittelstaedt. 

Central Marin Police confirmed last month it had cited at least one parent for allowing an unlicensed driver of an "e-motorcycle" and that illegal e-bikes have been impounded. 

"That is a great step forward that will wake up parents, once they know about that," said Mittelstaedt. 

Law enforcement points to staffing issues in tackling illegal e-bikes. Still, safety advocates like Mittelstaedt continue to push school districts and police for more enforcement. 

Mittelstaedt said at one high school campus in Marin, his team of volunteers documented a 55% increase in e-motorcycles from April 2024 to September 2025.

As for the new e-bike rules at Menlo Park City schools, any e-bike or e-moto found on campus in violation of the policy will be locked and held by the school. 

The e-bike or e-moto has to be retrieved by a parent or guardian.