Scooter FAQs
Q. Do I need to register my EVT 4000e or EVT 168 scooter in Massachusetts?
A. Yes. See the Massachusetts RMV website for all the details. The EVT 4000e and EVT 168 electric scooters sold by Electric City Cars are classified by the RMV as "motorized bicycles." As such, the electric scooters must be registered with the RMV. Electric bicycles with a maximum speed of 20 mph are not considered motor vehicles and need not be registered with the RMV.
The Massachusetts RMV does not require proof of insurance to register a motorized bicycle. Scooters registered as motorized bicycles will get a sticker that must be affixed to the vehicle instead of a license plate. Registration costs $40 and last through the end of the next calendar year (e.g., if you register now, your sticker will be good through December 2011.) Neither a safety inspection nor an emissions inspection is required to register a scooter of this class.
Q. What about the articles I read in the Boston Globe about the RMV cracking down on scooter registrations?
A. They say any publicity is good publicity, but the Globe articles have certainly raised more questions than they have answered among the public. The origin of the problem, if indeed there is a problem, is that some of the most popular models of scooters from brands like Vespa and Yamaha happen to fall into a grey area of the RMV scooter registration law. The law specifies that motorized bicycles (which is the very confusing name for low-power scooter specified in the Massachusetts laws) must meet two criteria, they must have motors of less than 50 cc displacement and they must have a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour or less. Manufacturers produce lots of 49 cc scooters because this criterion is common throughout the US. The problem arises in Massachusetts because some of these 49 cc scooter can go faster than 30 mph.
In the past, the Registry didn't bother to check the maximum speed of a scooter when it was registered. If the motor was less than 50 cc, you were assumed to have a maximum speed of 30 mph or less and placed in the convenient category of motorized bicycles.
Ironically, the registry was forced to revisit these issues to cope with people who were registering certain low-speed electric cars as motorcycles. Motorcycle dealers, it seems, don't like the fact that the law encourages people to buy small, inexpensive scooters when those same people could be buying more powerful and more expensive motorcycles. So when the law was revised to accommodate low-speed cars, a new registry category was created for scooters that could go faster than 30 mph but not more than 40 mph, thereby capturing the typical Vespa 50 cc type scooter. The category, confusingly dubbed "limited use vehicles," gets the same treatment as the existing "motorized bicycle" category, expect that instead of a sticker, the owner must affix a special "limited use vehicle" license plate to the vehicle. The law does not require drivers of these limited use vehicles to have a motorcycle license or to prove they have insurance on the vehicle.
Although that all seems pretty rational, if nitpicky, things got really interesting when scooter owners objected to the change. Traditionally, the difference between a sticker and a license plate on your scooter was the difference between free and easy sidewalk parking and having to park on the street like a car. However, it turns out that there was never any law that specified that scooter with stickers could park on the sidewalk, it was just a custom followed by both scooter riders and traffic enforcement staff.
Subsequent to the mini-brouhaha that followed the original Globe article on the topic, officials in both Boston and Cambridge stated to the press that they really did like scooters very much and had not changed their policies of allowing scooters to park on the sidewalk as long as the scooter was not a safety hazard or an obstruction of pedestrian traffic. Nevertheless, rumors abound among those gossipy scooter riders that parking enforcement staff have in some cases ticketed scooters for parking on the sidewalk and in other cases ticketed them for not parking on the sidewalk. My experience has been that no one seems to care where I park my scooter although I go out of my way to avoid blocking sidewalk traffic. I certainly haven't gotten a parking ticket for parking on the sidewalk, in sharp contrast to experience parking my car on the street in Cambridge and Boston.
By the way, scooters that can go faster than 40 mph are classified as motorcycles in Massachusetts. Proof of insurance will be required to register a motorcycle. Motorcycles get small license plates that must be attached to the rear of the vehicle.
Q. Do I need a driver's license to operate an EVT scooter on public roads in Massachusetts?
A. Yes, Massachusetts law requires operators of motorized bicycles (the official legal category into which the EVT scooters fall in Massachusetts) to hold a valid driver's license or learner's permit.
Q. Do I need a motorcycle license to operate a scooter on public roads inMassachusetts?
A. If your scooter is classified as a motorized bicycle, like the EVT 4000e and the EVT 168, a motorcycle license or endorsement is not required. If your scooter is classified as a motorcycle, i.e., it can travel at speeds greater than 40 mph, a motorcycle license or endorsement is required.
Q. Do I have to wear a helmet?
A. Not only is it smart to wear a helmet, it's the law. Operators and passengers of anything that might be considered a scooter must wear approved safety helmets. If your scooter is classified as a motorcycle, eye protection is also required.
Q. If my scooter is considered a motorized bicycle, can I use it on bike paths?
A. Motorized bicycles (a.k.a. scooters) cannot be ridden on off-street recreational bike paths. However, motorized bicycles can be ridden in the bike lanes at the side of public roads. This turns out to be hugely convenient when driving in congested areas, although you may foster resentment among the automobile drivers you leave behind...
