It's great to see so many citizens of Medicine Hat out enjoying the trails and roadways using a variety of means of transportation including power assisted / electric bicycles, mopeds, electric scooters, and mobility aids. Taking advantage of these alternative means can certainly help offset the world of fluctuating fuel prices and provide new ways to explore our beautiful city.

To help clear up some of the confusion surrounding the use of these items on our sidewalks, multi-use trails and roadways a list of the regulations and rules of the road for each of the device is listed below.

Power /Electric bicycles (e-bikes)

The Alberta e-bike regulations are as follows:

• Output can not exceed 500 watts and a top speed of 32 km/hr
• Required equipment includes head / tail lamps, reflectors, brakes, and horn and fully operable pedals
• No driver’s license, vehicle insurance or vehicle registrations is required
• Approved bicycle or motorcycle helmet is required
• Operators must be 12 years of age or older

The rules of the road for e-bikes are as follows:

• E-bikes are not allowed on sidewalks and are only allowed to be ridden on roadways and the multi-use trail system
• Must be ridden on the far-right side of a road, unless making a left-hand turn
• When riding on a one-way street in an urban area, it must be operated as near as possible to either curb or edge of the road.
• Anyone under the age of 16 is prohibited from carrying any passengers on the bike.

Mopeds

A moped is a vehicle that is propelled by an electric motor or an engine that has a displacement of 50 cubic centimeters and is a limited speed motorcycle with a maximum speed of 70 km/h and must have a minimum seat height of 650mm. Some vehicles may appear to be “mopeds”, however, if they exceed the engine size of 50 cc or speed of 70 km/h, then they do not fall into the moped classification and are, instead, considered motorcycles.

The regulations for mopeds are:

• Minimum Class 7 driver's license required
• Minimum driving age is 14 years
• Insurance and registration required
• Motorcycle helmet required

The rules of the road for mopeds are:

• The bike must be ridden on the far right side of a road, unless making a left-hand turn.
• When riding on a one-way street in an urban area, it must be operated as near as possible to either curb or edge of the road.
• Anyone under the age of 16 is prohibited from carrying any passengers on the bike
• A power bicycle must be equipped with the following gear: headlamp, tail lamp, brake lamp, reflectors, brakes, horn, muffler, and mirror.
• Must stay on the roadway and cannot be ridden on sidewalks or on the multi-use trail system

Electric Scooters

In May 2022, Medicine Hat City Council approved the implementation of a one-year electric scooter (e-scooter) pilot program with Bird Canada in certain areas of the city.

The local rules of operating the Bird e-scooters are as follows:

• Operators must be 16 years of age or older to rent
• They are governed to 20km/h and less
• No doubling allowed
• Helmets are not required but recommended
• E-scooters are allowed on paved trails within Medicine Hat and on designated roadways and bike lanes. E-scooters are not permitted on sidewalks downtown, at City Hall, in skate parks, on City buses or outside City limits. Download the Bird Canada map for the entire directory of permitted e-scooter use areas.

Mobility Aids

A mobility aid is device used to facilitate the transport, in a normal seated orientation, of a person with a physical disability. A person on a mobility aid is subject to the same rules as a pedestrian and is considered a pedestrian.

The regulations are:

• No license required
• There is no minimum age
• No registration or insurance is required
• No helmet required but is recommended

Because a person on a mobility aid is considered a pedestrian, they must operate on a sidewalk and use crosswalks when crossing streets.

For more information contact:

Acting Sgt. Kurtis Ladouceur
Traffic Unit
Medicine Hat Police Service
Ph: 403-529-8471