Picture this: A parent pedals up to their child’s school on an e-cargo bike, their kid safely strapped in, chatting about their day. The pedal assist motor provides just enough boost to handle the weight, making the ride smooth and efficient. Now imagine a police officer stopping them, saying their mode of transportation is illegal under Ontario law. Meanwhile, SUVs continue to dominate school drop-off zones, despite their well-documented danger to pedestrians and cyclists.
Ontario’s decision to ban child passengers (persons 16 years of age or younger) on e-bikes is a step backward for urban mobility, safety, and equity. While cities worldwide are embracing e-bikes as a sustainable alternative to cars, Ontario is doubling down on outdated regulations that discourage active transportation.
The Manufactured Danger of E-Cargo Bikes
The argument for banning children on e-bikes is supposedly about safety. But where is the evidence? Studies from cities across Europe and North America confirm that e-cargo bikes are one of the safest, most practical transportation options for families. Toronto’s emergency room doctors and cycling advocates agree: the real danger to children isn’t riding on an e-bike – it’s being anywhere near the growing number of SUVs on our roads.
As the Toronto Star recently reported, this policy is out of sync with global best practices. Cities like Paris and Amsterdam prioritize infrastructure and incentives instead of punitive measures, recognizing that micromobility plays a crucial role in reducing congestion and emissions. Meanwhile, Ontario is choosing to create unnecessary barriers that restrict low-carbon transportation options.
SUVs: The Real Threat to School Zones
Unlike e-bikes, SUVs have a mountain of evidence proving their risk to pedestrians and cyclists, particularly children. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, SUVs are two to three times more likely than sedans to kill a pedestrian in a crash. Their high front-end design often strikes children in vital areas, pushing them under the vehicle rather than onto the hood—with tragic results. This is not hypothetical; it is happening right now, with pedestrian fatalities rising alongside the dominance of SUVs.
Despite this clear danger, Ontario has done nothing to regulate SUV presence around schools. Parents crowd school zones with these oversized vehicles every morning, leading to chaotic and unsafe drop-off conditions. If the government truly cared about child safety, it would focus on limiting SUVs near schools, not banning an environmentally friendly alternative.
The Hypocrisy of Ontario’s E-Bike Ban
It is no coincidence that SUVs enjoy free rein while e-cargo bikes face unjustified restrictions. SUVs are big business, heavily marketed and protected by the auto industry. Meanwhile, active transportation alternatives like e-bikes face an uphill battle against outdated laws and car-centric policies. The absurdity of Ontario’s stance is magnified when compared to other jurisdictions: cities like Paris and Vancouver actively encourage e-cargo bike adoption through subsidies and infrastructure investments. Yet here in Ontario, families are penalized for choosing a safer, more sustainable mode of transport.
What Needs to Change?
Instead of criminalizing parents who use e-cargo bikes, Ontario should take meaningful action to improve road safety:
- Reverse the e-bike child passenger ban. The ban is not based on data and contradicts best practices worldwide.
- Restrict SUVs in school zones. Implement policies that prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety over car convenience, like School Streets.
- Subsidize e-cargo bikes. Follow global examples by providing financial incentives for families to adopt them.
- Invest in cycling infrastructure. Safe, dedicated bike lanes make active transportation a viable option for more people.
The choice Ontario faces isn’t just about e-bikes versus SUVs—it’s about what kind of future we want for our cities. Do we want streets clogged with oversized vehicles, polluting the air and endangering pedestrians? Or do we want cities where active, sustainable transportation is the norm? Banning children on e-cargo bikes isn’t about safety—it’s about maintaining the status quo. If Ontario were serious about protecting kids, it would ban SUVs from school zones long before restricting e-bikes.
Parents will continue to ride—because we know the real danger isn’t the bike we use to get our kids to school. It’s the SUV that nearly hits them when we arrive.
