Can you ride an electric bike on the pavement in 2025? Check the current regulations and exceptions in traffic law. Find out when it is legal, and when there is a mandate – everything you need to know to ride with your head!
Can you ride an electric bike on the pavement (and when)?
Electric bikes are no longer unheard of on Polish roads. In 2025 we see them everywhere – from city alleys to rural roads. What about pavements? Is it possible to legally ride next to pedestrians, bypassing street traffic? The answer is not so simple, because everything depends on how the law classifies your bike and what conditions prevail on the road.
What is an electric bike by law?
In Poland, an electric bike is not just any two -wheeler packed with electronics. Act Road traffic law (Journal of Laws 2023 item 1047, as amended) in art. 2 point 47 clearly defines what a vehicle is: It must have a width of up to 0.9 m, be powered by muscle strength, and the electric motor with a capacity of up to 250 W and the voltage max. 48 V is only to support pedaling, turning off after reaching 25 km/h. Such an e-bike is treated as a regular bike. If your two -wheeler meets these conditions, you can enjoy the same privileges as classic cyclists. If you have a more powerful vehicle model, e.g. S-Pedelec (up to 45 km/h, power up to 4 kW), it’s another fairy tale-the law sees it as a moped, and this changes the rules of the game. Then you need to make a driving license of the AM category.
Pavement? Basically not, but …
Let’s get to the point: can you ride an electric bike on the pavement? Most often the answer is: no. Art. 26 para. 3 point 3 Road traffic laws says clearly: “The driver is forbidden to drive along the pavement or pedestrian crossing‘
Situations when you can enter the pavement by bike
Art. 33 para. 5 Road traffic laws This is the key to understanding when a cyclist – also on an electric bike – can legally move on the pavement. There are three situations in which we get green light:
- Childcare up to 10 years old – If you go with a toddler who pedals on your bike himself, you can accompany him on the pavement. It’s logical – nobody wants a small child to expose themselves to the danger of cars. Condition? You must go carefully and give way to pedestrians.
- A wide pavement on a busy road – If the road next to you has a speed limit above 50 km/h, there is no bicycle path or bicycle belt, and the pavement is at least 2 meters wide, you can use it. In cities where cars rush on such routes, it is certainly a big relief for cyclists.
- Bad weather – Snow, downpour, strong wind, ice or thick fog? If the conditions on the road are bad that driving there threatens safety, the pavement becomes your ally. When the weather does not spoil, we can ride an electric bike on the pavement.
In these cases, an electric bike (up to 25 km/h) is treated as a regular bike, so you can use these exceptions. Note: art. 33 para. 6 orders to go at a speed similar to pedestrians, be particularly careful and not to hinder their movement.
What about stronger electrical bikes?
If your electric bike is a s-pedele or something even stronger, forget about the pavement. Such vehicles are classified as mopeds (Article 2 point 46) or even motorcycles if they exceed 4 kW. For them, the pavement is absolutely forbidden-you must stick to the road, and have a driving license category AM (for s-esdelec) or appropriate permissions for stronger machines. Bicycle paths also fall off – art. 2 point 5 says that they are intended only for bicycles and scooters, not mopeds.
Fines? They can hurt.
And what if you ignore the rules and enter the pavement without justification? The city guard and police will not have mercy. According to the ticket tariff (ordinance of the Prime Minister of 2023, Journal of Laws, item 1890), for a bike ride on a pavement contrary to the regulations you are threatened with PLN 200. If you also do not adjust the speed to pedestrians or make them difficult to move, you can lose up to PLN 300. For S-Pedelec or other “not bike”, the rates are higher-driving on the pavement is a minimum of PLN 1,500 and 8 penalty points, because it is already an offense for a motor vehicle. So let’s know your equipment and recipes so as not to get trouble.
The bike on the pavement is not the best idea …
Some complain that cyclists on the sidewalks are a scourge, others defend themselves that the road can be too dangerous. The truth lies in the middle – the rules give some possibilities, but they set clear boundaries. In 2025, when electric bikes are becoming more and more popular, it is worth knowing your rights and obligations not to get involved in a dispute with pedestrians or uniformed.
