MassDOT Releases Special Commission on Micromobility Final Report
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the Special Commission on Micromobility Final Report has been filed with the Massachusetts Legislature and is now posted online.
Review the report by clicking here to access the document. The report follows a series of five public meetings held in 2025.
The Special Commission on Micromobility was responsible for studying current state and local regulations and developing recommendations to expand micromobility use to help achieve shared goals for increasing mobility options, emission reductions, and economic vitality. Micromobility vehicles include (e-)bicycles, (e-)scooters, (e-)skateboards, (e-)unicycles, and other small, personal travel devices. The commission was established by the Legislature as part of the economic development bill, the Mass Leads Act.
The Commission included leadership from MassDOT, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), members of the Legislature, municipal leadership and law enforcement, representatives of the electric bicycle and scooter industries, and mobility advocates.
"Micromobility device use has grown and offers alternative transit solutions. Given the multitude of manufacturers and the differing capabilities and functionality that they all offer, I applaud Governor Healey for her guidance of this Micromobility commission, and I want to thank the Legislature for their support through the Mass Leads Act," said Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng. "I want to thank the Commission, whose membership included the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Department of Conservation and Recreation, local leaders and law enforcement officials, transit advocates, and academic experts for a road map of recommendations that strives to clarify legal classification, ensure safety, and establish driver's education requirements. Their efforts build upon our efforts to strengthen safety across all mode to deliver that well balanced transportation network that the public deserves and expects. We are optimistic that these recommendations will lead to a safe and well-regulated adoption of micromobility devices in the Commonwealth."
The Commission's Report was filed with the Legislature, with the following recommendations:
- Recommendation 1: Legislative and Regulatory Changes: The legislature should add the necessary legal definitions to Massachusetts General Law and update all existing relevant definitions or remove those that are no longer relevant.
- Recommendation 2: Speed-Based Classification Schema: The Commission recommends that the legislature adopt a methodology to classify micromobility devices; define requirements for operating a device based on its classification; place restrictions on where a given device can be operated; define what standards a device should be manufactured to; and devise a way to identify an individual device.
- Recommendation 3: Micro ID: The legislature should establish a time-limited working group with funding to design a statewide Micro ID Decal pilot. This will convene a multi-agency working group to develop a light-touch micromobility identification framework using a tamper-evident decal that links to a record confirming device tier, basic safety compliance, and limited, opt-in personally identifiable information for authorized parties.
- Recommendation 4: Police Training: The Massachusetts State Police?Academy and the Massachusetts Police?Training Committee should develop?and deliver training for law?enforcement officers, consistent with?new and current micromobility laws, regulations?and guidelines.
- Recommendation 5: Crash Report and Vulnerable User Data: The legislature should amend state law to enable the inclusion within MassDOT's crash data system of micromobility-involved crashes that don't also involve an operated motor vehicle.
- Recommendation 6: Default Maximum Speed on Paths: The legislature should establish a default maximum speed of 20 MPH on shared use paths, applicable statewide, unless otherwise posted. Path-operating entities retain the authority to lower the limit based on context-specific factors such as user volume, path width, crossings, geometry, adjacent land uses.?
- Recommendation 7: Education Campaign: Law enforcement and state and local?stakeholders, such as Safe Routes to Schools, should collaborate with relevant community partners, such as local bike shops, to develop and deliver an?educational campaign to inform?micromobility users about laws,?regulations, local ordinances, & safety practices.?
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Recommendation 8: Automated Enforcement: The legislature should authorize?automated enforcement on infractions?that impact
vulnerable users, such as speeding,?the improper use of bus and bike lanes, and?red light running. - Recommendation 9: Model Municipal Traffic Control Ordinance: MassDOT should include model micromobility?traffic control regulations and?prohibitions on obstructing bicycle?lanes in its Sample Regulation for?a?Standard Municipal Traffic Code.??
- Recommendation 10: Design Guidance: MassDOT and DCR should develop context-sensitive design guidance for state and municipal trails and shared-use paths that establishes recommended design parameters: addressing the separation of pedestrian and wheeled modes, design speed, signage, and emerging-micromobility, incorporating variations appropriate to urban, suburban, and rural contexts.?
- Recommendation 11: Micromobility Integration: The MBTA and other RTAs should adopt and implement a micromobility integration plan.
- Recommendation 12: Funding for Upgrades: The legislature should increase appropriations for?existing state programs, particularly the?Complete?Streets Funding Program?and the?Shared Streets &?Spaces Program,?to further assist municipalities in expanding their networks and?transitioning from interim infrastructure treatments.
- Recommendation 13: Expand Bikeshare: The legislature should establish a reliable and sustainable funding mechanism to support publicly owned, docked micromobility share systems. A combination of formula-based operating support and competitive grants for system expansion should be explored.
- Recommendation 14: Fund More E-bike Subsidies: The legislature should fund, and?MassCEC?should expand, the statewide?e-bike rebate program.
- Recommendation 15: Commercial Use Micromobility Study: The legislature should allocate funds for MassDOT to commission a study from an academic partner to understand how micromobility is used in commercial settings, particularly in the package delivery and food delivery industries.
- Recommendation 16: Presumed Liability Study: MassDOT should work with an academic partner to?study the hierarchy of responsibility in a crash and the potential effects of?introducing a "Presumed Liability" law.
The Special Commission on Micromobility's recommendations will be used going forward as a resource for future legislation, regulations, and program development to support safety and encourage growth and expansion of micromobility.
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