Transport Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed a package of everyday road rule changes that will let children ride bikes on the footpath, allow e-scooters into cycle lanes and set a single passing distance for drivers overtaking people on bikes and horses. The Government says the rules will take effect before the end of the year through Orders in Council, closing off a consultation that drew more than 6,000 submissions.
The headline change is one many parents have quietly been ignoring for years. Under the current law, riding a bike on the footpath is generally illegal no matter how old the rider is. From later this year, children aged 12 and under will be allowed to ride on the footpath as long as an older rider is alongside them, which the Government describes as a parent, caregiver, teacher or older sibling. Bishop said keeping children safe while they learn to ride is common sense, and framed the wider package as being about fixing the basics to deliver “safer streets, clearer rules, and less bureaucracy”, according to the announcement from his office.
The second change tidies up a rule that has confused e-scooter riders since the devices arrived on New Zealand streets. Until now an e-scooter has been allowed on the footpath and on the road, but not in a marked cycle lane, which is often the safest space on a busy street. That will change, with e-scooters permitted to use cycle lanes alongside bikes. Supporters argue it matches the speed of an e-scooter to the traffic around it and helps riders reach a bus stop or train station without weaving between pedestrians and cars.
Drivers will also face a clearer overtaking rule. Instead of the earlier proposal that set different gaps depending on the speed limit, the Government has settled on a single minimum passing distance of 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists, horse riders and other vulnerable road users. A single number is easier to remember and easier to enforce than a sliding scale, and it brings New Zealand into line with passing laws already used in Australia and parts of Europe.
The fourth change asks a little more of drivers around buses. In areas with a speed limit of 60km/h or less, motorists will have to give way to a bus signalling to pull out from a bus stop. The idea is to keep buses moving and make public transport a more reliable option, particularly on suburban routes where a bus can otherwise sit for long stretches waiting for a gap in traffic.
Not every proposal survived the consultation. The Government has decided against giving councils wider powers to fine vehicles parked on grass berms, a suggestion that had drawn a mixed response. Bishop said the volume of feedback, more than 6,000 submissions in total, shaped which measures went ahead and which were dropped.
The changes have been broadly welcomed by road safety and active transport groups. When the proposals were first floated, road safety charity Brake supported allowing e-scooters into cycle lanes, with director Caroline Perry noting the devices travel at speeds closer to bikes than to people walking. She also argued the country needs “more investment in infrastructure, particularly for active modes”, a reminder that rule changes alone do not build safer streets. Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie described the package as “quite common sense changes” and said e-scooters were useful for the “first mile, last mile” trips that connect people to public transport, as reported by RNZ.
There is caution as well. Pedestrian advocates have warned that putting more wheeled traffic on footpaths carries risks for people on foot, particularly older New Zealanders and those with limited mobility, which is part of why the footpath change is limited to younger children with an adult present. Injury data has added to the debate, with ACC claims involving e-scooters climbing sharply in recent years and a large share of those claims involving people under 25. Getting riders off the footpath and into a cycle lane is one way the Government hopes to bring those numbers down.
None of the four changes is dramatic on its own. Taken together they are the kind of small, practical adjustments that touch how a lot of New Zealanders actually get around, whether that is a child learning to ride on a quiet street, a commuter scooting to the station or a driver working out how much room to leave when passing a bike on a country road. The rules are expected to be finalised through Orders in Council and to be in force before the end of 2026.
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What do you make of the changes? Should young children be allowed on the footpath, and are you comfortable sharing a cycle lane with e-scooters? Have your say in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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