By Kyle Shelton, CTS director
E-bike use is spiking across the country and the globe. Nationally, e-bikes have consistently outsold electric vehicles over the past several years. Much of that surge was tied to the overall increased interest in bicycling during the pandemic. However, as users have experienced the full range of e-bike applications, it’s clear that their popularity, and the subsequent impacts on our overall mobility system, will only continue to grow.
Alongside this rapid growth, a parallel quest to regulate and situate e-bikes of all kinds into our mobility networks has likewise taken off. Aiming to help establish some of the action steps and policy needed, CTS worked with the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) to co-host an e-bike policy summit on February 12, 2025, on the U of M Twin Cities campus.
At the summit, more than 100 participants from across the state discussed different applications and challenges that the growth of e-bikes has fomented. Sessions covered the use and regulation of e-bikes on recreational trails, where and how e-bike use might impact Minnesota goals for reducing vehicle miles traveled, and other related topics. Additionally—and in line with CTS’s “Unpacking Freight” theme—several presentations discussed the role of e-bikes as key cogs in urban delivery systems.
Chris Morem, vice president for sales at Net Zero Logistics, joined the summit virtually to discuss the ability of e-cargo bikes to complete urban deliveries. With more than 300 e-cargo bikes in its fleet, Net Zero—based primarily in New York City and several other northeastern cities—delivers a wide array of items without generating any tailpipe emissions. In New York City alone, the company calculates that it’s delivered more than 14 million packages since 2022. In his presentation, Morem said Net Zero is currently implementing an even more robust micro-hub process that will enable a wider coverage area for last-mile delivery by e-cargo bike. A range of customers, from restaurants to florists ramping up for Valentine’s Day flower deliveries, are among the system’s users.
In addition to Net Zero, the summit welcomed the U of M’s new e-cargo tricycle, built by Civilized Cycle. The U’s Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) will be exploring applications for daily use across campus. Civilized Cycle’s chief revenue officer, Marc Liu, walked attendees through the trike’s capabilities and was joined by the PTS team leading the trike pilot over the next few years.
Both Morem’s presentation and the e-trike visual made it clear that the future of e-cargo delivery is here, offering a range of benefits. Like overall e-bike use, however, it also raises a number of regulatory and use questions. The summit was a first foray into collectively exploring those dimensions—one that CTS and partners are excited to continue working on together.
