After a Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report found a dramatic increase in e-bike accidents in Santa Barbara during the past three years, the Santa Barbara Police Department will work with the city to increase safety enforcement.
Community members have been vocal over concerns of unsafe e-bike riders, leading the City Council to adopt a new ordinance earlier this year, and the Police Department has had to use existing resources for enforcement.
The Grand Jury report concluded that there needs to be more public education on safe practices and rules, and that the Police Department needs more staff and money for enforcement.
To determine how much staff and funding are needed, the department will conduct a workload assessment by spring 2026, Police Commander Chris Payne told the Santa Barbara Fire and Police Commission on Thursday.
“Even though it’s an added responsibility and it does have some effect on staffing and flexibility, especially during peak school and commute hours on State Street, additional funding would support additional deployment of those resources if it’s available,” Payne said.
He said they need to see how current enforcement efforts go before they can determine what actions and resources they need in the long term.
The department currently spends two hours a day on e-bike enforcement and safety in high-traffic areas, alternating among officers from the traffic unit and community action team.
“We alternate times to make our enforcement a little bit more fruitful and to give us the ability to be less predictable and have positive contacts with the public,” Payne said.
The Grand Jury also recommended more education around the city’s e-bike ordinance. Payne said they are working with MOVE Santa Barbara County to hold safety classes at local elementary, junior high and high schools this fall.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office also is conducting e-bike classes in Goleta schools.
As part of the report, the Grand Jury recommended monthly police reports to the City Council on e-bike accidents and enforcement activities. Payne said they will instead be giving quarterly reports to the Fire and Police Commission starting Dec. 1.
In 2024, there were 80 accidents in the city involving e-bikes, 48 in which the e-bike rider was at fault.
There were 73 e-bike-related accidents in 2023 and only 10 in 2022. However, the Grand Jury learned that the Police Department counts collisions only when there is damage to a vehicle or when someone goes to the hospital, according to the report.
From October 2022 to October 2024, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital reported that it saw 84 patients with e-bike-related injuries, nearly half of whom were ages 11 to 20. Additionally, 12 accidents involved people ages 31 to 40, and 11 accidents involved people ages 21 to 30.
The city’s new ordinance requires riders to use bike lanes where possible, and requires riders to ride in a single file, except on paths or roadways designed exclusively for bicycles.
In addition, the ordinance requires yielding to pedestrians when emerging from an alley, driveway and bicycle path. It also prohibits the riding of a bicycle or e-bicycle on any sidewalk.
Riders younger than 18 need to wear a properly strapped helmet, and all bicycles are required to have reflectors affixed to both the front and back wheels.
The ordinance added new consequences for juvenile riders making unsafe decisions. Specifically, if a juvenile receives a citation, they could attend a two-hour class and take a test to get rid of the citation and fee.
Adults who don’t follow the ordinance can receive a citation.