Editorials
Second thoughts
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-14 07:48
The fate of more than 120 million electric bicycles seems to be hanging in the air.
New standards require that those with speeds above 20 km per hour and weighing more than 40 kg to be categorized as motor vehicles. That means riders will have to apply for driving licenses and pass tests. Worse, they have to ride them on motorways along with cars.
Why such new standards? The authorities of the State Standardization Administration (SSA) claim that they serve to protect cyclists and pedestrians from being injured by what they call light motorcycles. They are not unreasonable, but what about the safety of 120 million electric riders? They run the risk of being hit by cars.
Undoubtedly, departments involved in the management of motor vehicles will benefit from the new standards if all riders go through the procedure to have new licenses. It may be unfair to accuse the SSA of ulterior motives but it is beyond doubt that they will not be smoothly implemented.
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So such standards are not feasible at all. Trying to push standards that will be very hard to implement in reality will not just invoke complaints from the public, but hurt the credibility of the government.
To be fair, fast and heavy electric bicycles running on lanes for non-motor vehicles do pose a threat to pedestrians. But it is inappropriate to force them on to motorways.
Electric bicycles are an environmental-friendly means of transport. With an increasing number of people using them, emissions from cars will be reduced by a great margin. If only for the sake of preventing global warming, they should be encouraged, but the new standards will definitely not do that.
Their use can also greatly reduce traffic congestion in cities. Imagine if all 120 million riders drive cars instead -- the already congested urban traffic would become a nightmare. And if they start to run on motorways starting from next year when the new standards take effect, motor traffic in urban areas will certainly be more crowded. So the SSA fails to take into consideration the impact on urban traffic.
Most such riders are ordinary wage earners. They choose this speedy and inexpensive transport system because they cannot afford cars. The new standards will undoubtedly increase the cost of using electric bicycles and are, therefore, against the policy of increasing people's spending capability.
Some cyclist associations have already sought a postponement in the implementation of the new standards. We hope the SSA and other relevant departments have second thoughts.
(China Daily 12/14/2009 page4)
