

It’s a mix here. Those in private businesses tend to be open and easy to grab. The ones in a box on a street corner are code locked.
I suspect it makes sense. The slight delay would be fairly minimal. You are likely on the phone to emergency services already.
It’s quite effective at stopping people messing with them however. Unfortunately, it only takes a few idiots to ruin things. Both thieves and bored teenagers could take an interest in them, and render them useless. A simple code lock makes it clear it’s not to be touched without need.
I’ve not looked closely enough to see if any have a “break glass” type access system as well.












A lot technically are electric motorbikes (or would be under UK law, where I live).
To be an ebike, it needs to have no more than 250W peak power, have a power assist speed limit of 25kph (15mph) and require pedaling for power assist.
If it goes outside any of these, it becomes a electric motorbike, and requires a numberplate, insurance etc.
These rules seem very reasonable to me. Though I can see an argument for a slightly higher power limit for electric cargo bikes (400/500W). They are also starting to be enforced more critically now.
I’ve no issues with electric dirt bikes, but they belong with the road traffic at that point, not on the cycling infrastructure.