San Mateo County cities will be able to ban children under 12 from riding e-bikes starting Jan. 1, 2027, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state law on Sept. 30.
Assembly Bill 2595, authored by Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, creates the San Mateo Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot Program. It is the first such program in the county and takes effect at the start of the new year.
The law gives any city in San Mateo County, or the county itself in unincorporated areas, the authority to pass an ordinance prohibiting anyone under 12 from operating a Class 1 or Class 2 electric bicycle. Both classes top out at 20 mph. California already bars riders under 16 from using faster Class 3 e-bikes, which can reach 28 mph.
The bill drew broad local support. The City of San Mateo, the City of San Bruno, the Town of Hillsborough, the mayor of San Carlos, the California Medical Association and the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County all backed it, according to the Assembly Transportation Committee analysis. No opposition was on file as of the committee's April 20 hearing.
Enforcement and education
Before adopting an age restriction under the pilot program, a city or the county must conduct a public information campaign for at least 30 calendar days, including press releases and announcements in major media outlets.
For the first 60 days after a local ordinance takes effect, violations carry only a warning. After that, the fine is $25. Parents or guardians are jointly liable. But if a parent provides proof within 120 days that the child completed an e-bike safety training program, the citation is not forwarded to the court and no fee is imposed.
The pilot expires Jan. 1, 2031.
If an ordinance or resolution is adopted under the pilot program, San Mateo County must submit a report to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2030, detailing enforcement activity, traffic stops and crash data.
A tragedy in Burlingame
The push for stricter e-bike rules in San Mateo County intensified after the death of 4-year-old Ayden Fang. On Aug. 8, 2025, Ayden was playing on a sidewalk outside a restaurant in Burlingame when two children, ages 10 and 11, riding an e-bike struck a car pulling out of a parking lot. The startled driver accelerated onto the sidewalk and into the restaurant, killing Ayden in front of his parents, the Almanac reported.
"No more children should be hurt," Xiaoming Fang, Ayden's father, said at the county Board of Supervisors' Aug. 12 meeting, when supervisors advanced a separate county ordinance named for his son.
E-bike accidents statewide rose from two in 2018 to 1,566 in 2024, according to a University of California, San Diego study cited in the Almanac's reporting. A Mineta Transportation Institute survey found 87% of electric-motor devices at San Mateo County schools did not meet the legal definition of an electric bicycle.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Ayden's Ordinance on Aug. 25, adding e-bike restrictions to the county code. AB 2595 gives cities an additional tool: the authority to set the under-12 age ban through their own local ordinances.
What comes next
The sources reviewed do not identify a San Mateo County city that has scheduled a hearing or vote on adopting an under-12 restriction. AB 2595 takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and any local restriction will require an ordinance or resolution along with the required 30-day public information campaign.
The pilot program builds on a 2024 San Diego County model established by AB 2234. Residents can contact their city council members to weigh in on whether their city should adopt a local e-bike age restriction.
