Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

SHENZHEN traffic police launched a citywide campaign targeting app-based bike violators yesterday, in the city’s latest move to curb traffic accidents caused by bike violators.

So far this year, 12 people have been killed in app-based-bike-related accidents and 129,987 violations have been found across the city.

Of the 12 fatalities, 11 were caused by the bike riders’ illegal use of motorist lanes, statistics from the Shenzhen traffic police bureau showed.

At around 11 a.m. yesterday on Dongmen Road in Luohu District, one of the three roads in the city that report the most violations, a woman was fined 20 yuan (US$2.94) for using the motorist lane and several others were warned.

With the popularity of app-based bikes, violations, such as the illegal use of vehicle lanes and running red lights, have also risen. The peak periods for accidents are between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., and between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“With the launch of the action, we hope the number of violations will be reduced and the awareness of riders will be increased,” a police officer surnamed Gao, with traffic police’s Donghu unit, said in an interview yesterday.

According to the rules, bike riders aren’t allowed to enter motorist lanes, urban trunk roads or expressways. On roads that don’t have lanes for bikes, riders should stay on the right side of the road.

Riders aren’t allowed to carry passengers on their bikes, and children under the age of 12 are forbidden from using the bikes. Violators could be fined 20-500 yuan.

If a rider illegally parks a bike in a motorist lane, disrupts traffic or causes serious congestion or an accident, the violator will be fined 2,000 yuan and given a 15-day detention.

Earlier this month, Shenzhen traffic police set up a joint command center to handle violations related to shared bikes.

Through the command platform, they can share information about violations with app-based bike operators efficiently. Traffic police, in cooperation with the operators, also implemented a rule in July to suspend violators from using app-based bikes.

Within a year, violators will be suspended from using app-based bikes for a week for one violation, a month for two violations and six months for three or more violations. So far, the operators have suspended 250,000 riders for violations.

Since the first shared bikes appeared in Shenzhen in October last year, the eight registered operators have introduced 890,000 bikes to the city’s streets, which facilitate 5.43 million rides a day.