Group is riding e-bikes from Seattle to Olympia to urge House to oppose e-bike tax

Follow their ride via L. Harrison Jerome's Bluesky account.

After the Washington State Senate approved a transportation funding bill that includes a 10% sales tax surcharge on many e-bikes, Sara Morimoto and Harrison Jerome concocted an idea: They would ride e-bikes from Seattle to Olympia to urge the House to reject the Senate's bike tax. The bike tax would need approval from both chambers and the governor to become law. The House transportation funding proposals so far have not included a bike tax.

They hit the road Monday (today) ahead of Tuesday's 9 a.m. public hearing in the House about the measure, which also includes some controversial increases in transit fees. Their bikes include signs reading No EBike Tax" and Fix SB 5801." They're planning to pick up at least one more rider along the way.

If you can't ride an e-bike to Olympia before the hearing, you can testify online or sign onto an action alert from Transportation Choices Coalition supporting investments in safety, walking, biking and transit while opposing the transit and e-bike taxes. The House could take action on the bill as soon as Wednesday, so now is the time to voice your concerns about the devastating effect an e-bike tax could have on Washington's bike shops. Trump's tariffs are already putting a ton of stress and uncertainty on the state's bike shops, and they don't need the Washington legislature adding to their challenges. Bike shops are vital transportation infrastructure just like roads and bridges, and they need our support right now.

The logistics of a multi-county e-bike trip is actually kind of challenging. E-bikes typically have a few dozen miles of range, making them great for trips around a region, but pedal-only bikes have some clear advantages for longer distances since they are lighter and don't need to recharge. E-bikes shrink regions, but they don't really shrink states. Range anxiety on an e-bike isn't as dire as it is for an electric car since you can still ride an e-bike that has run out of battery power, but e-bikes are typically rather slow and sluggish without power. Sara and Harrison are taking the overland route, which will be closer to 80 miles with 1,000 feet of climbing, a workload that requires at least one recharge. You could cut out more than 15 miles by taking the ferries to Vashon Island en route to Tacoma, though this route more than doubles the climbing so might actually consume more battery power.

Thanks for Sara and Harrison for making this trip. Let's get the e-bike tax off the table.