My take on that?
Registration is fine. People need to be accountable. Licensing? Yes to that too. A lot of people that are driving or riding on a set of wheels do so as if they don’t know or don’t care about the rules of the road.
But given that these alternatives are a big help in mobility and that our public transport system is insufficient, I hope the LGUs will be fair and reasonable.
What actually concerns me is how vehicles like electric bicycles are being classified*. It’s not sensible.
For example, operating an electric bicycle that is over 350W and capable* of running at over 25kph is not a real issue if the rider does not go over 25kph. Cyclists on 100% human-powered, non-electric* bicycles can easily go over 25kph.
Safety is not so much about the motor. To some extent, yes. But it’s more about what the rider is doing, how they’re riding, how fast they’re going.
People tend to assume that if you have an electric bike that you ride fast. They haven’t considered that some people get electric bikes because they can’t do a full trip on a regular bicycle without some assistance.
Ergo, more important and effective would be to ENFORCE SPEED LIMITS for ALL things on wheels — whether it be a road bike, a mountain bike, a mamachari, an e-bike, a trike or tricycle, a kick scooter, a unicycle, a mobility scooter or, heck, even a wheelchair. If they want to ride on any city road, they have to comply with speed limits. Don’t you think?
Meaning, if anyone wants to use the bicycle lanes they shouldn’t go over 25kph. If they want to go faster, then they should stay off the bike lanes and use the car lanes. If anyone wants to use their vehicle (electric or not) on a sidewalk*, they should either dismount and walk their wheels along, or they should ride slower than 15kph.
Again, requiring registration and licenses to ride on public roads is fine. It makes sense.
But enforcing speed limits can be very quickly implemented. It’s amazing they hadn’t thought of that.
