Originally Posted by
2old
I don't know all the CA rules, but mopeds and mc's differ in that you don't need insurance for mopeds and only need to get the license plate once (not a yearly cost).
Yes, in California they realized that they had effectively destroyed a class of vehicles that were reducing congestion by presenting a real alternative to driving everywhere in private automobiles. As such, a lot of the regulations were backed away from, but it was too late, they had already done the damage.
One example is that they made it very easy to get a moped license plate. But that was after. I looked up a few other states where I had lived while writing this. Half of them still require motorcycle driver's licenses to operate a moped. If a person is going to go through that much trouble, they are going to get a motorcycle, not a moped (yes, there are always a small number of exceptions. As a person who took part in the moped boom, I assure you that the one or two mopeds seen in a year do not compare to the ubiquity of the moped in those peak years. But yes, there has been a relaxation of the anti-moped laws.
My concern remains that the same will happen to the eBikes.