Electric scooters at a shop in Quezon City. PHOTO/A. Cerojano
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella stands by the decision of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to ban the use of electronic-scooters (e-scooters) in major thoroughfares and city roads here.
Labella said in a phone conference that the safety of the motorists, pedestrians, and the public, in general, has to be taken into consideration in the use of these modern forms of motorized scooters.
“It’s really dangerous. It’s an accident waiting to happen in our main thoroughfares,” he said.
He said the order is based on a city ordinance. He cited the City Ordinance 801 or the Traffic Code of Cebu City, which states that coasters, roller skaters, and toy vehicles or similar devices are prohibited in any roadway, except while crossing a street.
The mayor said that even the Land Transporation Office (LTO) plans to regulate these e-scooters as they are currently drafting the guidelines for using these.
Read: Cebu City dad on ban of E-scooters: ‘It is untimely’
However, this move of the LTO has received backlash from the scooter communities and even the Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade expressed his disagreement over the registration of the e-scooters.
Still, for the mayor, there is danger in allowing e-scooters to share the road with larger vehicles such as trucks.
“They can still use the e-scooters at barangay roads and private roads but not on major thoroughfares and city roads because it can be dangerous for them. This is only for the safety of the public,” said the mayor.
The mayor urged the e-scooter users to simply use the scooters within the barangays roads and private roads or for short destinations.
The ban is only applicable for main thoroughfares and city or secondary roads. If anyone is found using these motorized scooters on these roads, the scooters will be impounded, and the driver will be cited for violations.
The CCTO has started implementing the ban on Friday. /bmjo