Road traffic Longtail bikes and cargo bikes should carry a license plate
All longtail and cargo bikes should have to carry a license plate. The Council of States wants to make drivers of these two-wheelers responsible by making them compulsory.
09.12.2025, 11:27
SDA
On Tuesday, it adopted a motion by Mauro Poggia (MCG/GE) by 22 votes to 15 with one abstention. The National Council now has to deal with the motion.
Poggia justified his motion by saying that there are more and more bulky cargo and longtail bikes and that children are often transported on them. Due to the length and weight of the vehicles, additional risks arise for the riders themselves, but also for other road users.
If these two-wheelers were illegally parked on a sidewalk and obstructed pedestrians, the owners of the bicycles could be identified, Poggia added.
The Federal Council opposed the motion and referred to the current regulations. According to these, e-cargo bikes with a total weight of 250 kilograms or more must carry a yellow license plate, but light e-bikes do not. According to the Federal Council, a distinction other than by weight would lead to demarcation problems, Transport Minister Albert Rösti pointed out.
Fake car number in the Council
The Council of States is also concerned about the security of car license plates. It wants the Federal Council to explain how the numbers could be better protected against counterfeiting. To this end, it referred a postulate from Werner Salzmann (SVP/BE).
Good forgeries could easily be ordered on the Internet, said Salzmann (SVP/BE) and showed his fellow councillors a fake number plate as proof. The Federal Council should also examine how neighboring countries could be convinced to take security measures.
