According to its chairman, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the priorities of the Senate Committee on Energy in the 18th Congress would include the creation of “a national policy and framework to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles [EV] in the public and private sectors.”
Gatchalian hopes to introduce a bill with a set of incentives that will encourage investments in the EV industry, as well as other technology innovations in the transport sector.
We laud the committee’s effort and welcome the environmental, commercial and social benefits of such initiatives.
In a previous editorial (On trains, trams and tranvias, February 5, 2019, https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/05/on-trains-trams-and-tranvias/), we noted how electric vehicles can help lower carbon emissions and create greener, healthier cities to live in.
We also said the electrification of public transport systems is one viable mitigating option that would have a substantial impact in lessening the economic and social costs brought about by the price volatility of fuel prices.
But while we do favor introducing more electric mobility in favor of gas-guzzling vehicles in the transport sector, this should be done through the right policies and regulations that benefit citizens, commuters, cities and communities.
One growing problem is the proliferation of electric bicycles and tricycles that indiscriminately ply the streets and even run on major roads.
These electric bicycles and tricycles, mostly made in China, are sold cheap, a good reason for their ubiquity. But the other reason why they have proliferated at such a rapid pace is because we don’t have laws regulating them.
Anybody, even without a driver’s license, can buy them and drive these vehicles on major thoroughfares, alongside registered motor vehicles driven by licensed drivers.
There have been many accidents involving these electric bikes and trikes, where their riders (hardly any of them wear helmets) and pedestrians have been injured, and other vehicles have been damaged.
Because they are not insured and those who use them have no license, the victims and even the police are often left scratching their heads on how to go after the erring riders. The most the police can do is impound their e-bikes and trikes, but the owners of the vehicles they damage often get no compensation. The police can only ask them to file a tedious and likely futile property damage claim.
Most of the time, these accidents happen because e-bike and trike riders think they are not subject to the same traffic rules and regulations like other drivers. Pedestrians get bumped sometimes because they can’t hear the faint whine of their electric motors.
Local governments and traffic authorities must crack the whip on e-bikes and trikes, which must also be registered with the Land Transportation Office. Even then, they must not be allowed to run on major roads and thoroughfares. Those riding e-bikes and trikes on major roads should be meted penalties, and their vehicles must be impounded. They are certainly not authorized to pick up passengers and be used as delivery vehicles.
The LTO, if not the local governments, should impose a mandatory registration of e-bikes and trikes, and restrict their use. They should be confined to neighborhood streets in barangays and villages.
Drivers of e-bikes and trikes must be licensed or must secure a permit and undergo testing, and education on road rules and courtesies, and of course, the proper operation of their vehicles before they are allowed to roll their purchases out of the stores. Their users should also be required to wear helmets.
For a government so ferociously keen on enforcing bureaucratic rules on road users, the use of electric bikes and trikes screams out for the same sort of regulations being followed by all drivers of motor vehicles, so that they do not become a public nuisance and to ensure safety on our roads.
Image credits: Jmbo Albano