http://www.whatsonxia...

Xiamen to expand restriction areas for electric bicycles

Updated: 05 Nov 2011


According to statistics from the Xiamen Traffic Police Department, electric bicycles are blamed for over 40% of the traffic accidents on Xiamen Island.

Xiamen will further expand the electric bicycle restricted areas within Xiamen Island and raise the penalty cost for electric bicycles’ traffic violations to over 100 yuan starting 1st January next year, reports Xiamen Daily.

According to statistics from the Xiamen Traffic Police Department, there are nearly 100,000 electric bicycles within Xiamen Island. Electric bicycles are blamed for over 40% of the traffic accidents on Xiamen Island.

According to current regulations, electric bicycles are banned from most busy roads in Siming and Huli District and all the bridges, tunnels and expressways that prohibit non-motor vehicles in Xiamen.

“As the current penalties for electric bicycles’ traffic violations, warning or fine (20-50 yuan), are way too light, electric bicycles can often be seen running on restricted roads,” say the police. And licenses may be introduced to restrict the amount of electric bicycles on the roads from March next year.

Most of Xiamen is on an island:


Presumably a "busy" road in Xiamen means one full of novice car owners... and their "ebike" accidents mostly involve another much larger and heavier and faster vehicle...

Lock

Interesting English-language online forum for foreigners living in Suzhou China (Suzhou is a major city located in southeast Jiangsu Province, adjacent to Shanghai. Pop about 4 mill, metro area 10 mill.) The link is to a search for the word "ebike".
http://www.suzhou-exp...

...talk about police checkpoints looking for illegal ebikes with cost to register an ebike with the City and getting a license plate less than $2Cdn. Locals having illegal bikes confiscated, foreigners mostly ignored. Ebikes for sale EVerywhere including most supermarkets:

And let me tell you that supermarket bikes really suck. They break easy, fall apart, and bringing them back to the store never seems an option.

Looks like "too fast" bikes are referred to as "super ebikes"

One post from last April:

23 Apr 2011 18:35

xnotoriouzpakix

super ebike license plate

as we all see, there are many "super" ebikes in suzhou now. by super ebikes i mean the one that can go at least 60km/hr and even alot more. My bike is a 72V xiao shuai ge. Now these bikes have always been illegal in suzhou. now with this new law they have here that every ebike needs to get the yellow license plate, i have tried really hard but concluded it is impossible to get the plates for these types of ebikes in suzhou. they said they can give us these white plates which will not allot the police to confiscate the bike, but they can charge a 20 yuan fine. so if i get pulled over 10 times in a day, i have to pay 200 for that day. pretty expensive.
Now my question is, can someone help me with or point me in a direction of getting plates for my bike from any other city? is it possible to do this? Like how all these illegal motorbikes in suzhou all have plates from other cities. But i dont have a single clue about how to go on to do this. help please?

locK

These China-based English-language forums are pretty amusing... from gochengdoo.com, "The best English-language website and information resource for the city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, China", this blog post from a year ago:
http://www.gochengdoo...

Chengdu public complains about traffic
This article was posted by Jane and published September 20, 2010


Chengdu residents are not very happy about the city's traffic, and who can blame them? Taxi fares have just increased, the nearly-open subway might not go where they need to, and there are just too many vehicles on the road.

Late last week, a forum poster started a thread titled "Appeal for Help: Constructed Traffic Jams Should Be Managed. The thread quickly heated up, and by Sunday evening there were over 300 posts in it, with citizens offering their ideas and opinions on why Chengdu's traffic is so bad and what to do about it.

The original post:

This is Caoshi Jie, next to the parking lot for the government administrative buildings. Every morning at around 9 o'clock, there's simply a mess of cars, electric bicycles, bicycles, pedestrians all suffering an unspeakable misery. Why is it like this every day? Hopefully the relevant departments can harmonize and manage this. Actually, it's quite simple: The parking lot opens at 9:30; if it would open half an hour earlier, the residents would be able to commute through smoothly!

A selection of thread responses:
1: The transportation department doesn't know what to do, they only know how to manage vehicles, not people. I don't think these people are color-blind, they're just weak-minded!!!!!!

2: The most annoying are the rickshaws

3: It's still not as congested as Shunjiang Lu.

4: It's not strange at all, over 80 percent of Chengdu's traffic jams are created by people from the relevant departments.

5: People don't yield to vehicles, vehicles don't yield to people. You don't yield to me, I don't yield to you. All of this just to snatch one or two seconds. Everybody come together in traffic jams—the heart is wider than the road!

6: How can this be regarded as a traffic jam? I'm often stuck in traffic for over half an hour to go the distance between two bus stations, I'm already used to it.

7: How normal....

8: Jinhua Town and Cuqiao Lijiaci are jammed up much worse than this every night. The traffic police can only direct the traffic by abusing these wicked people or even by beating them. I hope that a bureau can dispatch official police to train "leather shoe" folks. They're too savage.

9: The worst are the rickshaws, they don't obey anything, they're always getting fined, now the streets are full of them

10: Chengdu traffic, a local can only say one thing: officials have no plan, the people have no inherent goodness.


11: The past two days I've been stuck in two traffic jams. The day before yesterday was when I was going home from work on the 45 bus. On Guangfu Qiao Jie I was stuck for half an hour, sheesh, it used to be just be a 10-minute drive and now it's more than 40. Last night near Shuinianhe I waited half an hour for the 34 bus, and then five buses in a row came. Sucks.

12: I agree with the above commenter. It's the motor vehicles making the traffic jams. The relevant department should pay more attention to the non-motorized vehicles encroaching upon the motor-vehicle lanes, the motor vehicles running red lights, etc. Anybody breaking the law should be heavily fined (I suggest a fine of RMB100) and at the same time detain the vehicle.

14: Forget it, nowhere in Chengdu has traffic jams, how can those relevant departments have any time to manage this? They don't even have enough time to think about where everybody can go to eat and drink, how could they possibly take any time to bother with the affairs of the small ordinary residents?

15: In the city, just drive an electric bike, don't even try to drive a car

16: Actually, neither the motorized nor the non-motorized vehicles are at fault. The party at fault are the relevant departments for not enforcing any of the rules of the road. And there are more and more cars ...

18: You know, in Singapore, it's always been cars yielding to people, I've never heard of people yielding to cars. Singapore is really people-centric!

20: There are too many people coming into Chengdu from outside the city, it's too crowded if all the people live in Chengdu, the burden on the city is abnormally heavy. No wonder that vegetables and rice are so expensive now, there's no classification of people, everybody just moves right into the city. Now there are more people from outside the city than city locals ...

22: A tragedy I saw the other day: in front of the Beihu bus station there's an intersection, a woman riding on her electric bike rode through some fresh cement and it all sprayed up onto her bike. The bike was changed beyond recognition and the rider was even worse off! No matter if it's people yielding to cars or cars yielding to people, the problem is nobody has safety awareness.

23: Speaking frankly, in Chengdu, most of those driving, walking, riding an electric or pedal bike, and especially those taking Chengdu's taxis, are really annoying. I want to say they're really uneducated but actually they are educated people, so how can this kind of situation occur? My analysis is that it's a fight with time. Actually most people have this inherent goodness, but it's just in order to grab that second, I don't yield to you and you don't yield to me. This competition makes the traffic jam. Everybody think about whether you really need to grab those seconds.

360: Chengdunese are falling into ruins, is it really necessary to drive a car to and from work? So many people live and work inside the city, and still want to drive a car to and from work even though it's so near. How much space does a car take up? If your workplace and your home are that close to each other and you still drive your own car to work I despise you greatly. Ride a bike to and from work. Another thing is I get pissed off when I see those water trucks, they were OK before,

363: It really needs to be taken care of. I spent 30 minutes and RMB15 going from Qinglong Jie to Caoshi Jie, WTF! Chengdu really is a city you can't escape once you arrive [a riff on the city motto of "Chengdu: A City You Don't Want to Leave"]

Online [C]omments to this post are interesting...

L0cK

Another terrific blog post from the same site, last July:
http://www.gochengdoo...

E-asy Rider: bikes in the fast lane

This article was posted by Joe and published July 5, 2011



Do you remember the last time your anger at the city's traffic overwhelmed you? Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? You, trying to wedge yourself onto an overcrowded bus. You, realizing that the supposed connection from the subway is nowhere near walking distance from the stop. You, failing for half an hour to flag down a cab and when you finally managed to nab one, it's just to find yourself in the gravitational center of a universal gridlock, counting the grannies overtaking you on the sidewalks until you finally see yourself turning into the Incredible Hulk.

If it feels like that was just yesterday—or five minutes ago, or right this very instant—there is a good chance that the following lines might come as a bit of pinkish light at the end of a pitch black tunnel. The grannies on the sidewalk yesterday were not the only ones passing you by: There was also a layer of electrified two-wheelers that flashed past every other second. The good news is, you can join the legions of speeding demons. (And yes, when the average speed of traffic is under 10 kmph, 25 kmph is speeding.)



Nowhere else in the world do electric bicycles constitute such a large portion of road traffic as in China. With a cruising fleet of well over 120 million electric bikes and scooters on the streets, according to a New York Times article, China's sales of electric bikes is outpacing that of both cars and traditional bicycles, say articles in the Economist and the BBC News. The country is also a global leader in the production and export of the battery-powered vehicles—and with dozens of e-bike production bases, Chengdu itself happens to be one major leg of the exploding industry. And while other major cities across the country (Beijing, Guangzhou, and Fuzhou, for instance), seem to have a love-hate relationship with electric two-wheelers, first encouraging their use and then banning them, Chengdu, until now, seems to have nothing but love for its e-bikes and e-scooters, not having taken any drastic measures to restrict or regulate them. The city's flat terrain and dedicated bike lanes on most roads make it an ideal spot for productive everyday use.

Of course, not everything about the e-bikes is grand, which other cities use to justify the bans they've at times placed: Citizen concerns over road safety is one concern since the vehicles are fast, heavy, and quiet; environmental concerns over the energy used and emissions produced in the creation and recycling of the batteries is another. And to be sure, they have their drawbacks, which we've outlined below. Nonetheless, the fact that the vehicles have gained rapidly in popularity over the past decade seems to fit in perfectly with the fact that while Chengdu's residential borders are ever expanding, traffic is crawling along at a perpetually slower pace.

So if you're considering joining the electro road riders, here are some tips.



So which one should I get?
It's best to test drive friends' bikes or try them at the many shops in the city; the best "feeling" bike is personal preference. But there are also a number of questions you can ask yourself to help narrow down the choices:



1. How far do I want to go?
The first question is that of the distance you plan to cover on a daily basis. Provided you choose a lightweight model, and you're also relatively lightweight, a 36-volt battery can probably take you 25 km or 50 km if you pedal. But the standard-issue, lead batteries lose capacity over time and in cold weather, so after one winter, your battery might barely manage half the distance it went the first year—it's a substantial loss. Upgrading to 48 volts might be worth the higher price tag; it increases your activity radius tremendously and should allow you to go back and forth anywhere within Chengdu. If you ride a lot, you might consider a 60-volt battery, but the increased voltage means increased battery mass, eating into the very energy it supplies. It would be nice to find an e-bike that allows us to discover the hilly outskirts of Chengdu, but currently, not even an 80V will get you there and back. Lithium batteries eliminate or reduce many of the problems associated with lead batteries, but until lithium-battery technology is further developed, costs remain prohibitive for average customers.



2. What design do I want?
The types of electric two-wheelers break down into three main categories: Heavy electric scooters whose design derives from their gas-powered and pedal-less counterparts. They're comfortable for one or can seat a whole family, but they're also big and heavy, and can't be easily lifted. And without pedals, if your battery fully drains while you're on the road, pushing it is hard labor. Maximum speeds range from 35 to 50 kmph. The second type is the electric bike, which is basically a standard bicycle with an engine that supports your pedaling efforts, or does the job for you up to a certain distance. The frame, brakes, suspension and other elements are those of a traditional bicycles—you can even leave the battery at home and ride it in the conventional manner. Taiwanese manufacturer Giant (捷安特) seems to be the undisputed local leader for this type, which in bike-friendly Western countries is more popular than the electric scooter. A good share come with a front engine, and some models are foldable. Finally, most models for sale in Chengdu are actually hybrids combining scooter and bike elements, with the engine usually in the back and the battery underneath, or attached to the frame under the rider. It's a design that allows the rider to pedal when necessary but still carry heavy loads on its heavy, robust frame.

continues...

3. Can I take it back home?
Regulations vary from country to country, state to state, and city to city. While some places heavily encourage electric bikes and even grant tax breaks to users, others strictly prohibit their use. While reports say that electric bikes have been appearing on the streets of the Netherlands and New York for the past couple of years, many Western countries have defined electric bicycles as vehicles running on 250 to 750 watts, or banning all types apart from battery-assisted pedal bicycles. It's best to check specific country regulations (both environmental and safety) and to buy a vehicle from a manufacturer with multinational presence for warranty and repair purposes. In the end, it might not be worth the hassle and extra cost of shipping it or checking it on a flight home, but then again, it just might be: Many e-two-wheeler models sell for thousands of Euros or dollars in Europe and the United States.

Costs
The total costs of e-vehicles somewhere between maintaining a city bike or buying a monthly transit pass and taking taxis for every trip. Based on an e-vehicle owner who pays one parking lot and buys a new bike annually after re-selling the old one, the cost of an e-vehicle breaks down to RMB5 to 10 per day; RMB130 to 330 per month per day; RMB1800 to 3300 per year; and RMB0.5 (high-voltage battery) to RMB1 (low-voltage battery) per kilometer. Costs are halved if you pedal constantly. Costs are much higher if you don't use the battery to maximum capacity daily.



Additional Costs
Parking RMB15/month + RMB1/day for charging in residential areas; free or up to RMB1/time in commercial areas
Recharging RMB0.5 to RMB1 per cycle at home, based on current Chengdu power costs
Taxes, Fees, and Fines There are currently no license plate fees or taxes, although there has been talk of implementing regulations for heavy and fast electric vehicles. However, traffic police do occasionally hand out fines to law-breaking riders.

Repair, Maintenance, and Parts Similar to standard bike repairs: RMB0.5 to 1 for additional air; RMB1 to 3 per tire patch; RMB20 to 30 for a replacement inner tube; under RMB50 for most cosmetic parts (mirrors, pedals, seats, baskets). The most expensive parts are the microcontroller, engine, and battery, but they rarely break, and if they do, it's probably time to get a new vehicle rather than pay the hundreds to repair them. Rechargers are RMB60 for a brand name and RMB25 for a no-name device.


*According to a survey of electric-bike shops in Chengdu

General Tips
• If you are on a budget, wait until after any of the three major holiday periods are over and bargain hard on a discontinued model to save a couple hundred yuan
• Make the small investment in a second battery charger so you can recharge your battery at work and at home without carrying the charger back and forth
• Batteries need to be replaced every two years on average as they lose 10 to 20 percent of their capacity annually, or more in cold weather
• RMB400 plus the old battery will buy a new battery (the old one will be recycled)
• Pedaling the first meters to accelerate helps maintain your battery life and puts you ahead of the messy biker bulk
• Brands usually offer regular free maintenance to their customers' bikes at any of their shops
• Buy a proper biking suit and helmet if your scooter can hit 50 kmph
• Never leave your bike unlocked anywhere—try to lock it to a pole, tree, or friend's bike to make it that much more difficult to cart off
• The RMB1 is worth the peace of mind at paid and supervised lots. Some businesses will reimburse part of the cost of bikes that disappear from their lots.
• On a related note, leave that freebie lock in the shop and get a real one

*Comparisons to a single-gear, low-end city-bike model.
**Depending upon where you've parked it.



Death Traps and Dangers
More than the price, safety concerns might put off potential e-bikers, and for a reason: E-vehicle deaths are accounting for a growing percentage of the nation's traffic-related deaths. The most recent widely available statistic was 2,500 deaths in 2007, a small but significant 3 percent of all traffic fatalities. While on the road, apart from the general disregard for traffic orderliness, watch out for:
• Ghostriding scooters and even cars that speed into your lane without warning, lights, or brakes
• Rickshaws (sanlunche) that turn 90 degrees or stop suddenly while you're in their (disproportionately large) blind spot
• Motor vehicles making right turns on red lights without slowing down for cross traffic
• Buses that swerve into the bike lane on their way to the bus lane
• Unexpected holes and ditches in the streets, uncovered manholes, and unannounced speed bumps in bike lanes
• Pedestrians and other riders who didn't hear you coming due to the quiet nature of electric vehicles
• Black Audis.


*Comparisons to a single-gear, low-end city-bike model. **Depending upon where you've parked it.

This article was originally published in CHENGDOO citylife Magazine, issue 42 ("hi-nrg"). Photos by Dan Sandoval.

Again, online [C]omments to this blog post are very interesting.

Lock

http://www.whatsonxia...

Xiamen to limit number of electric bicycle next year
Updated: 06 Dec 2011


E-bike drivers in Xiamen will have to obtain a license before they are allowed to go on the road next year


According to relevant Xiamen traffic control departments, Xiamen will take several new measures to strengthen the regulation of electric bicycles next year, reports Xinhua Net.

Electric bicycles will be required to obtain licenses before they are allowed to go on the road next year, and the registration of the already-in–use electric bicycles may be started next month. The license registration fee is RMB10 per vehicle at the Xiamen Traffic Police Non-motor Vehicle Management Office in Fanghu Road.

After that, a license-plate lottery system will be introduced to control the number of new electric bicycles within Xiamen Island.

Electric bicycle drivers must install the license plates on their bikes and take their driving license with them before they go on the road.

Besides, Xiamen will further expand the electric bicycle restricted areas within Xiamen Island and raise the penalty cost for electric bicycles’ traffic violations

Click to read Chinese version
SOURCE: WOXnews.com

http://www.whatsonxia...

Electric bicycles in Xiamen to be licensed starting March 1
Updated: 31 Jan 2012



Xiamen will launch license registration for electric bicycles in the city from 1st March, reports Xiamen Economic Daily.

According to relevant Xiamen traffic control departments, electric bicycle drivers will be required to install the license plates on their bikes and take their driving license with them before driving on the road in the city by that time. Both license plate and driving license will be valid for 5 years once being issued.

Meanwhile, electric bicycles are banned from most busy roads in Siming District including Wenping Road, Wenzeng Road, Wenyuan Road, Siming Nan Road, Siming Bei Road and Lujiang Avenue.

Those who ride electric bicycles in restriction areas will be fined RMB 200 and the electric bicycles will be detained as well.

Click to read Chinese version
SOURCE: WOXnews.com

http://www.whatsonxia...

Electric bike market in Xiamen faces sales slump over new license rule
Updated: 01 Feb 2012

http://www.whatsonxia...

Electric bike market on Xiamen Island has seen sales slump following new license management regulation issued by the Xiamen traffic control department, which will take effect from 1st March, reports Strait Herald.

According to the Xiamen traffic control department, any new electric bikes or those fail to meet the national standards will not be qualified for the license registration on Xiamen Island.

Electric bike dealers start to worry about electric bike sales on Xiamen Island. Many may shut down their stores on Xiamen Island and cast their eyes on markets in outlying districts of Xiamen even Zhangzhou and Quanzhou after the launch of new license management rule.

Meanwhile, residents who previously planned to buy new electric bikes turn to seek old electric bikes in second-hand market.

Currently, about 20,000 to 40,000 electric bikes will be qualified for new license registration as more than 80% of electric bicycles sold in Xiamen fail to meet the national standards, according to electric bike dealers.

Click to read Chinese version
SOURCE: WOXnews.com

http://www.whatsonxia...

Xiamen to kick off license registration for e-bikes starting Mar 1
Updated: 29 Feb 2012



Xiamen will kick off license registration for electric bicycles and expand restriction areas from 1st March, 2012


The restricted areas for electric bicycles on Xiamen Island [The blue and yellow areas, published in 2012] (You can click the picture to expand it for clear view)

Xiamen will impose tough management for electric bicycles this year. Along with license registration from 1st March, Xiamen will also expand the restriction areas for electric bicycles on Xiamen Island, reports Xiamen Daily on Tuesday.

Management of electric bicycles will be much like that of motorcycles under the new rule. All electric bicycles will be licensed in Xiamen starting from 1st March. E-bike owners should show the sales invoice, quality certificate, ID card and other proof to register the vehicle at an authorized police station.

Only e-bikes that are in accordance with national standards, mainly 20kph speed limit, 40kg weight limit and 240W output power limit, can be registered, according to the report. And the maximum validity for the license is 5 years from the purchase date.

Besides that, the authorities also expanded the restriction areas for electric bicycles on Xiamen Island. E-bikes are banned from most busy roads in Siming and Huli District and all the bridges, tunnels and expressways that prohibit non-motor vehicles in Xiamen.

Traffic police said that all the e-bike riders must install the license plates and take driving licenses with them while riding the e-bikes. 1st March to 1st June will be a "buffer period". After that, e-bike riders caught riding without license plates or driving licenses, or driving on banned roads in Xiamen will be fined RMB200 and the electric bicycle will also be detained.

Click to read Chinese version
SOURCE: WOXnews.com