MOST residents feel that electric bikes should be governed by strict regulations to ensure road safety.

According to a survey conducted by the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily in September, 40 out of 50 residents thought the city should impose strict measures to regulate electric bikes, while the remaining 10 thought the bikes should be banned altogether.

Many residents consider electric bikes to be eco-friendly and that they could help meet the requirements of building a low-carbon city. Meanwhile, the low cost and convenience of the bikes had helped many less well-off people to solve their transport problems.

But some residents insisted on a total ban on electric bikes.

“Although they are called electric bikes, most have been refitted with unauthorized equipment, bringing their top speed to more than 60 kilometers per hour, like a motorcycle,” wrote one resident, Liu, in a letter appealing for a ban on the bikes.

Wu Limin, deputy of the city’s People’s Congress, suggested that government departments should work together to regulate the bikes, all the way from production to their operation by riders. “For example, the quality inspection department should monitor standards during production, while the market supervision department should clamp down on bikes being sold illegally. The traffic department should introduce rules to regulate the bikes’ use,” he said.

(Wang Yuanyuan)