Shenzhen will designate banned, restricted and nonrestricted areas for the management of electric bikes, according to a draft plan released on the official website of the city’s legislative affairs office seeking public suggestions.
A hearing on the draft plan will be held online from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, and interested residents can register on the official WeChat account of the office by Sunday night.
According to the draft plan, the banned areas are where road traffic is heavy and the public transport network is well-developed. Restricted areas are where the public transport coverage is high, and road traffic is rather crowded. Some roads in these areas have already restricted e-bikes.
E-bikes in the courier and delivery industry that have registered with the police aren’t subject to the rule.
Nonrestricted areas have low public transport coverage and decent traffic conditions.
The draft plan allows traffic police to designate and adjust the areas according to public transport coverage and traffic congestion after seeking suggestions from the public and related agencies.
E-bikes are only allowed on roads if they are registered with the traffic police department. The Shenzhen traffic police department will issue e-certificates containing the driver and vehicle information as evidence of registration, without which e-bikes are not allowed on roads. The e-bikes used in the courier and delivery industry need to have ID-chips installed after they are registered at a traffic police department and must be managed by the unified e-bike management platform of the Shenzhen traffic police.
The Shenzhen traffic police will control the number of e-bikes engaged in delivery services through a quota system. E-bike drivers are required to wear helmets. The draft plan defines the legal consequences for e-bike drivers and riders not wearing helmets.
The other highlight of the draft plan is that tricycles in the delivery industry will be allowed in designated areas after registering with the police authority.
According to the legislative affairs office, the tricycle ban is being lifted because tricycles hold advantages over e-bikes in courier and delivery services regarding safety and capacity. The capacity of one tricycle equals that of three e-bikes.
Beijing and Guangzhou allow courier services to use tricycles in nonrestricted areas during certain time periods.