State and Territory Ministers, Emergency Services and Police are all grappling with the impact on road safety, casualties and battery fires arising from the use of non-standard, unsafe and illegal machines. This has occurred following the weakening of standards for e-bikes in 2021.
Whilst actioning these issues is of critical importance and needs to be carried out as a top priority, it is important it not be a knee jerk reaction, particularly with respect to the carriage of e-bikes on trains. E-bikes which clearly fail to meet current Transport Victoria regulations and required safety standards should be banned but there are many that meet required safety standards and there is no justification for banning them on trains or other forms of public transport. This issue is discussed in more detail in the attached .