What we hoped to learn
The Special Commission on Micromobility was established by the Legislature via Session Law Acts of 2024, Chapter 238, Section 306. The Commission had three goals laid out in its mandate:
- review current state and local laws and regulations
- develop recommendations for regulations
- develop recommendations for supporting expansion and innovation
Our team was asked to staff the Commission. We organized five meetings with the Commission members to discuss themes, issues, and potential recommendations for the Legislature. These meetings took place in 2025. In these meetings, the commission saw presentations on topics such as battery safety, e-bike subsidies, and bikeshare systems. Commission members proposed over 100 recommendations which our team helped refine down to the 16 that made it into the final report.
The final report has almost as many citations as pages: 40,000 words spanning 120 pages citing over a hundred resources.
This report was submitted to the legislature on January 31, 2026.
The Lab is now on deck to support the implementation of some of these recommendations, if and as the named agencies in the report move the recommendations forward.
We also made a summary of the final report.
Why we're doing it
Micromobility devices are rapidly becoming more prevalent on our streets. People are confused about where they should go, which devices to buy, how to ride responsibly, and how to act around them in traffic. Crash data is incomplete, and it is difficult to gauge how dangerous certain devices, designs, and activities are because of the current way crash reporting is done.
Micromobility devices have the potential to be a powerful tool in tackling traffic congestion, climate change, and the "last mile" problem, where traditional public transit gets you close but not all the way to your destination. They have the potential to be transformative in unlocking mobility for seniors and people without a car or driver's license. Already, we have seen micromobility used as an instrumental tool by gig economy workers, high school students, immigrants, and economically vulnerable workers to get where they need to go. Even people who have a vehicle are sometimes choosing micromobility for short trips instead of driving.
Micromobility came onto the market relatively quickly around 2017 and has taken off in popularity in the last five years. These devices have little federal regulation around them, and the existing state legal and regulatory framework is made up of a patchwork of laws, some dating back to before the technology enabling some micromobility devices even existed.
Additionally, there have recently been some high-profile crashes and deaths involving micromobility devices (or those that appear to be micromobility devices). This has brought the concern for safety to the fore. Members of the Legislature have heard from their constituents that they feel unsafe around micromobility users who zip past pedestrians and other vulnerable users on sidewalks or paths.
This is a space ripe for learning and experimentation. The Lab spent time digging through research and case studies to support the Commission's recommendations in the final report, but there is still much more to learn.
What we hope to learn
- What are the issues surrounding micromobility that people are most concerned with?
- How are other states, countries, and municipalities addressing micromobility and are those strategies applicable across Massachusetts?
- Who uses micromobility? How are they using it?
- How do we support growth and safety simultaneously?
- How does micromobility intersect with equity, affordability, and sustainability?
- What are the existing laws and regulations around powered micromobility devices? How should those laws and regulations change to accommodate the surge in innovation and adoption?
- Is it possible to develop a future-proof framework for thinking about and regulating micromobility devices?
- How can law enforcement ensure devices are being used legally and safely?
Who's involved
The Commission was made up of 15 members representing businesses, interest groups, academic institutions, regulatory agencies, and governing bodies from across the Commonwealth, including:
- MassDOT
- Joint Committee on Transportation
- Department of Conservation and Recreation
- MIT Media Lab
- CargoB
- City of Boston
- Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association
- Town of Amherst
- MassBike
- A Better City
- The Ride Cafe
- Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
- WalkMassachusetts
- Consulting Planners of Massachusetts