Guangzhou has proposed new regulations: Electric bicycles will be restricted at different levels and time periods. Opinions: Travel | Traffic police | Citizens | Guangzhou City | Transportation | Guangzhou | Bicycles

On June 6th, the Guangzhou Traffic Police held a press conference to once again solicit public opinions on the adjustment policy of electric bicycle traffic management in Guangzhou.

It is understood that in order to implement the spirit of the national document on strengthening the standardized management of electric bicycles, Guangzhou implemented a registration and license plate policy for electric bicycles in November 2021. At the same time, the traffic policy was adjusted from the previous city wide administrative area ban to the city center area restriction, and opinions were publicly solicited in July of the same year.

Considering the suspension of some public transportation services during the epidemic prevention and control period, electric bicycles have become an important means of transportation for citizens to travel, deliver medicine and meals, and ensure the operation of the city. Guangzhou traffic police have been studying the implementation of travel restrictions with a cautious attitude. In order to make more scientific and lawful decisions, in accordance with the relevant requirements of the "Regulations on Major Administrative Decision Procedures in Guangdong Province", discussions were organized among representatives of the National People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as well as various sectors of society such as the food delivery and public transportation industries. Third party consulting agencies were commissioned to conduct public opinion surveys and widely collect opinions from various sectors.

Since the implementation of "Class B and Class B control" for COVID-19 infection by the state, the traffic in Guangzhou has returned to normal. A series of problems caused by the rapid growth of electric bicycles have aroused widespread concern among citizens. As an important part of the comprehensive management of electric bicycles, traffic restrictions have been implemented by Guangzhou Traffic Police. Based on fully absorbing opinions from various sectors, they adhere to the "public transportation priority" development strategy, draw on the management experience of other cities in China, and based on the actual situation in Guangzhou, they have further formed a "road section restriction" plan in the central area, with the aim of guiding electric bicycles to become short distance transportation vehicles and an effective supplement to public transportation.

The specific restricted area is shown in the following figure:

The optimization and adjustment of this plan mainly includes two aspects:

One is to adjust the "central area restriction" to "partial road section restriction" in the range of travel restrictions, and the other is to adjust the "all-weather restriction" to "all day, day, peak, hierarchical, and time period restriction" in the travel restriction time.

It is understood that the reason for making such adjustments is mainly based on the opinions collected earlier: currently, there are two main views in society regarding traffic restrictions: firstly, it is believed that electric bicycles have actually become a supplement to short distance travel such as buying groceries and picking up and dropping off children to school, and should be guided and regulated to ensure the harmonious coexistence of electric bicycles, motor vehicles, and pedestrians; Secondly, it is believed that during rush hour traffic congestion, incomplete infrastructure for non motorized vehicles, and uneven road resources in the central area, necessary restrictive measures should be taken for electric bicycles in the central area.

Considering the strong call for both views, in order to seek the "maximum common divisor" from all parties, and on the basis of considering the actual travel needs and differences of various groups, Guangzhou Traffic Police analyzed and evaluated factors such as road network structure, road location and grade function, pedestrian and vehicle flow and speed index, coverage of conventional buses and subways, and construction of non motorized lanes through third-party research institutions, further optimizing the specific road sections and time periods for "traffic restrictions".

The restricted road sections are divided into three levels: full day, daytime, and morning and evening peak hours:

One is to impose full day traffic restrictions on Dongfeng Road and Huangpu Avenue to reduce the impact on the efficiency of urban transportation arteries;

Secondly, daytime traffic restrictions are imposed on surrounding roads in areas such as "One River, Two Banks", Guangzhou Tower, Tianhe CBD commercial center, Pazhou Convention and Exhibition Center, and Baiyun International Conference Center, providing a better experience and experience for walking, leisure, sightseeing, tourism, and business exchanges;

Thirdly, implement morning and evening peak hour traffic restrictions on important trunk roads with well-developed public transportation, including the north-south directions of Jiefang Road, Tianhe East Road, and Liede Avenue; The east-west direction of Tianhe Road, Huanshi Road, Zhongshan Road, Linjiang Avenue, etc., aims to divert electric bicycles during peak hours to ensure the normal operation of main road traffic and guide electric bicycles for short distance travel.

Some sections of the road are subject to full section restrictions, while others are subject to partial section restrictions. Please refer to the notice for details. In addition, Guangzhou's expressways, urban expressways, inner ring roads, and river crossing tunnels are still subject to full day traffic restrictions in accordance with the Guangzhou Non Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles Management Regulations.

In response to this travel restriction plan, Guangzhou traffic police will publicly solicit public opinions again on the website of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau from June 6th to July 6th. Citizens can provide feedback through the following channels.

Letter: Received by the Public Opinion Collection Team of the Traffic Police Detachment Command Center of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, No. 1726 Huaguan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou City;

Website message: Guangzhou Public Security Bureau website/Police Civilian Interaction/"Investigation Collection" column.

After the public solicitation of opinions, a hearing will be held on July 10th at the Traffic Police Detachment of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau. We sincerely welcome citizens to actively sign up and participate, and provide valuable opinions and suggestions.

The Guangzhou Traffic Police stated that they will continue to strengthen the management of road traffic order and work together with relevant functional departments and district governments to promote the construction of infrastructure such as non motorized lanes and parking charging, reducing conflicts and interweaving interference between various types of transportation. At the same time, they will promote and improve the governance mechanism for electric bicycle modification and speeding, as well as the supervision and management mechanism for delivery platform enterprises, to control the disorderly use of electric bicycles from the source.

A good road traffic environment cannot be achieved without the joint efforts of all citizens. Guangzhou traffic police hereby call on the general public not to drive beyond the standard, modify electric bicycles, refuse traffic violations such as speeding, going against traffic, and running red lights, and achieve law-abiding and civilized travel, jointly creating a safe, orderly, and harmonious road traffic environment.