I had seen an article on this about 2 months ago. Seems that Guangzhou has (had) 100K electric bike users and 900K mororists. Then, with 30days notice, they banned the electric bikes all togehter. I saw an article in China Daily that showed a yellow hat-wearinng officer confiscating an electric bike.
You cant help but see this as an attempt to get more people to buy cars. In an area like this, there cant be that high a regard for the plain old human powered bikes either.
Seems like China is going to need some major bike advocacy. I hear 90% of the worlds construction cranes are there and that the Chinese, are "building a Huston every week".
When I did a search on Guangzhou and found the city's website about 2 months ago, there was a picture that showed a highspeed traffic circle, (instead of the American-style cloverleaf) in the foreground and the city in the back. Now the hompage sports a pleasant sculpture featuring goats.
Guangzhou ban on electric bikes faces court challenge, but local papers are given a gag order
South China Morning Post
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Guangdong authorities have issued a gag order forbidding local newspapers from reporting on a lawsuit challenging Guangzhou's ban on electric bicycles.
A source said the provincial propaganda department told local newspapers on Monday night not to cover the issue, which has received wide media coverage outside Guangdong.
Some newspapers had to pull their reports at the last minute and local websites, including the Yangcheng Evening News Group's YCWB.com and 21cn.com, were told to delete related stories from their sites. Sources said the wording used by the authorities was not very stern, but local officials in charge of the matter appeared to be "tense".
The order followed a hearing on Monday in the Panyu District People's Court of a lawsuit brought by the owner of a confiscated vehicle -- the first legal challenge to the city government's ban on electric bicycles.
Ye Cunhuan, 41, said she applied to the court to have her electric bicycle returned after police took it on December 7, accusing her of "adding an electric engine to a bicycle".
Ms Ye said police then changed their reason for confiscating the bicycle, but refused to give it back.
A municipal ban on electric bicycles on Guangzhou roads including suburban areas such as Panyu, Conghua and Zengcheng came into effect on November 3, despite widespread community opposition.
Pu Zhiqiang, Ms Ye's Beijing-based lawyer, told the court that both reasons given by local police were illegal and even the ban itself, which was the key basis of the punishment, contradicted national law.
Mr Pu said the police had misunderstood the traffic laws which empowered them to "manage" local traffic, but not "ban" vehicles such as electric bicycles or motorcycles.
He said rights of the community and industry were also being ignored. "No user, manufacturer or distributor was asked to attend the three public hearings [on the issue] last year," Mr Pu said.
Without addressing the broader questions of law, traffic officer Wei Caizhi, representing Panyu traffic police, insisted Ms Ye had been treated lawfully. The bicycle could still be returned because they had not yet finished investigating the case, he said.
The court is due to issue a verdict before March 8. Three similar cases are expected to be heard in the next few months in the Liwan and Tianhe district courts, and Mr Pu said he believed there would be more to come.
He Xiaohua, from the Guangdong Bicycle Association, said the ban was unreasonable and only introduced to ensure people barred from riding motorcycles did not switch to electric bicycles.
Date Posted: 1/10/2007
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
You cant help but see this as an attempt to get more people to buy cars. In an area like this, there cant be that high a regard for the plain old human powered bikes either.
I'm going to guess you have never been to China. In the places I saw, the streets are very crowded, the vast majority of people make very little money and there is no way in hell they'd ever be able to afford a car (if they could, there would be no place to keep it), and there is already way too much traffic to add that many cars. Rather than being hostile to bikes, I saw them used there like no other place. BTW, where did you see that they have 900K motorists? Guangzhou is a big city, but that number still sounds high to me.
The picture below was taken about a block from where I lived in Fuzhou in 2001. I have never been to Guangzhou and don't know anything about the suit, but it's very possible that the ban might actually be about making it safer to ride a bike by not having a few people going much faster or needing more space. It is also possible that the ban has nothing to do with bikes and is intended to combat some problem caused by the way people charge the batteries. When I was in Fuzhou at the time the picture was taken, fees for owning a motorcycle were being raised through the roof to discourage people from owning them. The concern at the time was that they take more space on the roads and cause traffic jams.
I'm going to guess you have never been to China. In the places I saw, the streets are very crowded, the vast majority of people make very little money and there is no way in hell they'd ever be able to afford a car (if they could, there would be no place to keep it), and there is already way too much traffic to add that many cars. Rather than being hostile to bikes, I saw them used there like no other place. BTW, where did you see that they have 900K motorists? Guangzhou is a big city, but that number still sounds high to me.
The picture below was taken about a block from where I lived in Fuzhou in 2001. I have never been to Guangzhou and don't know anything about the suit, but it's very possible that the ban might actually be about making it safer to ride a bike by not having a few people going much faster or needing more space. It is also possible that the ban has nothing to do with bikes and is intended to combat some problem caused by the way people charge the batteries. When I was in Fuzhou at the time the picture was taken, fees for owning a motorcycle were being raised through the roof to discourage people from owning them. The concern at the time was that they take more space on the roads and cause traffic jams.
China is trying to motorize their entire nation ASAP but they don't want the traffic jams associated with this change. The move to ban electric bikes is the first step that will eventually lead to outlawing the bicycle. The long term vision is to remove all slow human powered vehicles from the streets and have the population paying for motorized bus transport. The electric bike is a problem because they are becoming popular and while they are not as slow as bicycles, most are marginally faster and hold up motor traffic. In their opinion, if these slower moving electric bicycles were removed, traffic congestion would get bette in the long run.
dobber
China is trying to motorize their entire nation ASAP but they don't want the traffic jams associated with this change. The move to ban electric bikes is the first step that will eventually lead to outlawing the bicycle.
Please cite your sources.
bobsut
If you search for a recent announcement by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (http://www.google.com/search?q=China%20Association%20of%20Automobile%20Manufacturers) you'll see stories with headlines like "China is now the No. 2 vehicle market (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16440146.htm)" (Here's the AP release (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHINA_AUTO_SALES?SITE=NCCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT), at least for a while.)
slagjumper
The picture below was taken about a block from where I lived in Fuzhou in 2001.
You dont have to have been to China to know that there are more bicycles there than just about anywhere in the world. NYC was full of bikes and buggies in 1905. I have a film of workers leaving a factory in 1906 that shows just as many employees ridding bikes as any Chinese scene you can find today. Several factors are comming togther to change the transportation system in China.
Some things about China that spell trouble for the bike.--
1) With China's current and projected demand for gas, the price has dropped so low that it makes cars a more viable alterantive. I figure that the Chinese are paying about 1/3 to 1/2 of the price that Americans are currently paying.
2) More, better roads.
3) More need for productivity.
4) Climbing wages.
5) Media glorification of the car.
slagjumper
If you search for a recent announcement by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (http://www.google.com/search?q=China%20Association%20of%20Automobile%20Manufacturers) you'll see stories with headlines like "China is now the No. 2 vehicle market (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16440146.htm)" (Here's the AP release (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHINA_AUTO_SALES?SITE=NCCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT), at least for a while.)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16440146.htm
The officially endorsed car culture has changed the Chinese landscape almost overnight, with ancient city centers bulldozed to make way for broad avenues and the government spending heavily to build a nationwide highway network
banerjek
...The long term vision is to remove all slow human powered vehicles from the streets and have the population paying for motorized bus transport.... if these slower moving electric bicycles were removed, traffic congestion would get bette in the long run.
As much as I like bikes, this logic makes some sense to me. As you'll notice in the picture, there's quite a gaggle. It actually moves faster than rush hour traffic in many US cities, but it's definitely not fast. Most bikes go at a jogging pace. Given a slow bike or a fast bus for a commute, I'll take the bus. If you're going any distance at all, you want to be able to move right along on a bike.
When my Chinese hosts heard how far I rode my bike each day, they were absolutely dumbfounded by how it was possible. There is no way I'd attempt my bike commute in a major Chinese metropolitan area because it would take way too long even if the air pollution let me breathe well enough.
sbhikes
It's so sad that with such a large nation of obviously very smart people and enough cheap labor to last nearly forever that they wouldn't opt to create the new technology we all need to end our dependence on oil and instead they would choose to use the technologies that will be the downfall of us all.
Wogsterca
It's so sad that with such a large nation of obviously very smart people and enough cheap labor to last nearly forever that they wouldn't opt to create the new technology we all need to end our dependence on oil and instead they would choose to use the technologies that will be the downfall of us all.
Technology has always followed the money, as Chinese people buy more cars, the oil supply will be tightened, and as the oil supply tightens, it gets more expensive, and Western countries will find ways to do more with less of it. For example:
Instead of driving a big SUV, you will switch to a small SUV, then a small car, then you start looking for a home closer to work, or work closer to home. This is to reduce the amount of driving you need to do, with higher and higher fuel prices.
Cities will see this as an opportunity, and developers will as well, the city townhouse will replace the suburban ranch house as the preferred place to live, the typical unit will be 3-4 storeys high, with another unit next door, connected on both sides, to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool the building. Retail, commercial and community spaces will be interspersed with residences, again to reduce the need to travel long distances, to work, shop and socialize.
smurfy
I can see that in the not too distant future the downtowns of most major American cities will be bike-streetcar-ped-centric and cars will be moved to the sidelines. I believe that's what today's younger generation wants as they get more aware of the enviroment, global warming etc.
The Chinese, however, will want a car-centric culture for the time being and will not listen to us Westerners because they think we want to "keep them down". And like us Americans they will just have to learn the hard way.
China bans electric bikes in moves towards “car era”
Fears have emerged that China is rapidly moving towards a car culture that will lead to chaos on the roads and a pollution crisis in the country. Moves in this direction have been accelerated by decisions in several Chinese cities to ban electric bicycles. On July 1st this year Zhuhai went a step further by becoming the first city in China to actually pass a law banning electric bicycles on public roads. Beijing is set to follow suit in January next year. The move has caused uproar amongst the 15 million people who use electric bicycles nationwide.
The newspaper, the South China Morning Post warned, “Paying scant attention to the lessons learned by European cities during the past 50 years, China is hurtling with speed and single-mindedness into the car era, favouring it over bicycles and motorbikes.” Critics of the government’s policy believe it shows little regard for the county’s poor, favouring the elite of large state firms, private business and foreign multinationals - all of those who either make or use motor cars.
In Zhuhai policymakers went ahead with the ban on electric bicycles in the city despite the results of a public opinion survey which found 90% of respondents to be opposed to the idea. The main reasons for the ban were cited as being the traffic congestion caused by the bicycles, the levels of pollution from the lead batteries which their users discard every three months and the accidents that they caused.
These claims were countered by the China Bicycle Association (CB) which said that in fact most advanced countries supported the electrical bicycle as an environmentally friendly alternative to the motor car. The electric bicycle, it said, has no pollution, no noise and small energy use.
Secretary General of the CBA, Guo Haiyan said that it was the riders and not the bicycles that were responsible for the accidents and that in Shanghai, the city with the largest number; the accident rate was 0.17% against 1.6% for cars. She also blamed the congestion on the fact that the Zhuhai government had abolished cycle lanes, forcing bicycles to encroach on pedestrian spaces. In answer to criticism about pollution form the batteries, Haiyan said that actually they had a high rate of reuse which could be fully utilised if the city set up a recycling facility.
Record oil prices have provided the bicycle lobby with a powerful new weapon in its argument against the ban. Increased use of the car on mainland China, resulting from a ban on electric bicycles, could mean 20 times more cars on the roads than at present; this in turn would require the consumption of half the world’s production of oil. Chen Mian, a professor at China Oil University said, “Unless there is an enormous breakthrough in new energy or the technology of auto engines, it’s difficult to imagine how the world could support such a consumption of petrol.”
During the last 10 years, mainland China’s domestic oil output has risen only from 150 million tonnes to 175 million, while demand has soared resulting in increasing dependence on imports. Last year the dependence rate was 42% costing US $34 billion. Oil was the single most expensive imported commodity. Moreover, of the 292 million tonnes purchased by mainlanders, 35% was consumed by the transport industry, principally cars. The situation can only worsen as China’s car fleet grows.
Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development
buzzman
China is trying to motorize their entire nation ASAP but they don't want the traffic jams associated with this change... In their opinion, if these slower moving electric bicycles were removed, traffic congestion would get better in the long run.
maybe their plan is to get rid of all those bicycles so the obesity rate will rise and air quality will deteriorate even more and they'll all start dropping dead of heart disease and lung disease thus solving their overpopulation problem.
ghettocruiser
Have personally been to that part of China a year ago, I think the risks of bikes ever disappearing there are, to say the least, overstated.
Traffic flow is complete and utter chaos, there are bikes, mopeds, and motorbikes everywhere. It's already almost gridlocked with cars representing maybe 1/3 of traffic. I have to wonder what the percentages will be with enforcement of this inane bylaw in the OP.
China is still largely seen as an authoritarian state, and in many ways it still is, but there are many, many rules and regulations there that are completely ignored by absolutely everyone.
slagjumper
China car facts-
600 people a day are killed in cars in China.
200,000 people killed every year!
5 million new drivers a year.
many new 50-60 year old drivers!
2% Of all cars are in China, but;China accounts for 15% of all global fatalities
New Drivers can get a license without ever actually driving on the public roads.
1000 new cars registered a day in Beijing!