E-bike riders could face accreditation rules

Plymouth City Council heard concerns about the behaviour of some riders

An accreditation scheme could be introduced for e-bikes in Plymouth because of concerns about the behaviour of some food delivery riders and other users.

E-bikes, in common with other cycles, don't need to be registered, taxed or insured, and users don't a licence to ride one.

Chairman of the city council's scrutiny management board John Stephens said residents and riders needed to co-exist better.

The meeting also heard of an increase in young people with e-bikes, who sometimes ride anti-socially and congregate in big groups which could be "quite intimidating".

Enforcement event

The city council's street operations manager Emily Bullimore said it was hard to tell the delivery drivers from other riders and believed the situation had reached "boiling point", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Insp Gregg Bridgett said Devon and Cornwall Police stopped 15 riders during a recent enforcement event and seized seven of them.

Scrutiny board members agreed to work with city centre businesses to find out about any responsibilities they had for self-employed delivery drivers, and may consider an accreditation scheme to raise standards.

Councillors also agreed to lobby MPs about introducing national legislation and training and will investigate a bylaw for the city centre.