Published Sep. 17, 2026at6:00am
Cities around the world are in the midst of a technological revolution that is transforming the very fabric of urban life. This technology is making it easier and less costly to move around, while improving environmental quality and public health.
I am speaking, of course, about electric mobility. E-bikes and scooters are standard equipment for downtown office workers, delivery services, and even high schoolers putting off getting a driver’s license. Modern cities are accommodating these innovative, quiet, and clean devices with infrastructure that ensures their continued, safe expansion.
But it wouldn’t be San Francisco if there weren’t a controversy attached, and true to form, City Hall is paralyzed, caught between the people who oppose new mobility technologies, the manufacturers who make and market them, and the growing cohort of residents and visitors rolling through town on our often unsafe streets.
Successfully accommodating this rapid rise in e-mobility demand is straightforward with good policy. All that is lacking, for the moment, is clear leadership.
Commute-hour bike counts in San Francisco increased by 52% between 2024 and 2025, and shared bike and scooter trips have more than doubled since 2024. Nearly a third of San Franciscans bike at least once a week. | Source: Sean Fan/The Standard
Stepping back to the data: Commute-hour bike counts in San Francisco increased by 52% (opens in new tab) between 2024 and 2025, and shared bike and scooter trips have more than doubled since 2024. (opens in new tab) Nearly a third of San Franciscans (opens in new tab) bike at least once a week. More families than ever are taking advantage of our Slow Streets network and car-free spaces like Sunset Dunes and JFK to make daily drop-offs easier and enjoy the city by cargo bike.
E-bikes and scooters effectively “flatten” our city. Most neighborhoods have steep hills that make biking a difficult, if not impossible task, but the simple addition of electric power unlocks micromobility for all fitness levels and ages.
At the same time, complaints (opens in new tab) about dangerous riding have increased, and more people are getting seriously injured on e-bikes and scooters. Our streets feel less predictable than they did five years ago, and neither the city nor the state has kept pace policy-wise. It’s time for both to act.
These concerns are real and require urgent resolution. But the clarion call to “ban e-bikes,” or the desire to arrest riders and impound their devices, focuses on the wrong target. The culprits in this case are easy to see.
First, unscrupulous device manufacturers are making electric motorcycles and marketing them as e-bikes. These manufacturers need to be brought into compliance with existing law and penalized appropriately: Children should not be riding motorcycles, ever, and no electric mobility device should be able to go more than 28 mph (the top speed of an e-bike, as defined by California code (opens in new tab)) without a licensed rider.
State leaders in Sacramento have passed SB 1167, which will require truth in advertising for electric mobility devices. It bars manufacturers and sellers from advertising or labeling a device as an e-bike if it exceeds the legal limits on power and speed, and makes doing so prosecutable as false advertising. The bill is on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, and he should sign it. The combination of legislation and targeted enforcement is urgently needed, and both Sacramento and the city attorney have key roles to play.
Second, while San Franciscans are riding in record numbers, our city’s safe streets infrastructure has never kept pace with demand. A combination of political pressure at City Hall (opens in new tab) and inertia has made San Francisco’s streets hostile for everyone, including motorists: Car crashes are one of the leading causes of violent death in our city and one of the leading causes of injury requiring hospitalization.
People using e-mobility devices feel the danger on every ride; that’s why they often end up on the sidewalk or other places they don’t “belong.”
Source: Genaro Molina/LA Times/Getty Images
The solution is not to punish early adopters of a revolutionary technology; it is to aggressively invest in dedicated space on public streets. A protected bike lane on the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building reduced sidewalk riding by 70% (opens in new tab). Complaints about scooters blocking the sidewalk can similarly be solved by adding dedicated parking. The new red curb “daylighting” zones across the city are a great place to install parking spots for these devices that will clear sidewalks and create more space for pedestrians.
On this point, City Hall holds all the cards. The management of San Francisco’s streets is the exclusive purview of elected officials. If they want to embrace our culture of technology innovation — while also protecting the health, safety, and welfare of our neighbors — they should act urgently.
We have an exciting opportunity to lead America’s urban transportation technology revolution. With all eyes already on San Francisco we just need to say: Let’s go!
Jeremy Stoppelman is the CEO of Yelp and a longtime San Francisco resident who has backed many YIMBY efforts and Recreation and Parks enhancements, including successful campaigns for JFK Promenade and Sunset Dunes. Follow him on X (opens in new tab).