The Manager's report back on the Special Commission on Micromobility

The City Manager responded via CMA 2024 #67, which the Council further discussed in the Transportation Committee meeting on June 25, 2024. The conclusions reached by the City and the Council were that municipalities had some authority to regulate e-mobility devices on some kinds of public ways, but the issue was largely in the purview of state authority. In April 2025, MassDOT announced a Special Commission on Micromobility. The Commission has three tasks: 1.

Look at state law and report back on how to clarify it, especially as it relates to Class 3 e-bikes and mopeds. 2. Look at local laws and Department of Conservation and Recreation regulations and recommend changes. 3. Make recommendations that would expand micromobility use in order to reduce under-3-mile trips by cars and make first-and last-mile-to-transit connections. This is intended to help achieve shared goals for increasing mobility options, emission reductions, and economic vitality.

The Special Commission is holding a total of five meetings between April and November 2025 and plans to issue its report in December 2025. The Commission includes a range of stakeholders, and although Cambridge is not represented officially on the Commission, City staff have submitted specific questions based on input from some staff and some residents and provided comments for the Commission to consider.

The City staff group that is collaborating to address micromobility issues includes people from the Department of Transportation, Community Development Department, Department of Public Works, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Law Department, and Police Department. The City’s communication to the Commission was informed by community comments that were shared with these departments and collected as part of the process to develop the Zero Emission Transportation Plan.

This includes feedback shared by the three transportation committees. The City’s questions seek legal clarity to help it develop policy and local regulations that align with state law and a regional micromobility approach. The interdepartmental City staff group will continue to work together to interact with the Micromobility Commission, inform the Council and the community of the Commission’s work and recommendations, and incorporate the findings of the Commission into our work.