The Cebu City Transportation Office or the CCTO the ban on e-scooters will stay as long as a provision in Ordinance No. 801 will not be suspended. | CDN Digital Photo by Morexette Marie B. Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) said that they would have to wait for the suspension of Article 4 Section 7 of Ordinance 801 before they could totally lift the ban on electronic scooters or e-scooters in the city.
The provision of the ordinance states that coasters, roller skaters, and toy vehicles or similar devices are prohibited in any roadway, except while crossing a street.
Though scooter groups have argued that e-scooters are not coasters or bikes, but a unique vehicle, the CCTO can only apply the legislation it most fits with.
Read: Lifting of e-scooter ban, suspension of provision in Ordinance 801 sought
Alma Casimero, the head of the CCTO, told CDN Digital that as of now the ban on e-scooters would have to stay because they were only implementors of the legislation and could not directly suspend its implementation.
“Once the ordinance is suspended, we can allow all e-scooter users to already ply the streets subject to regulations, of course. As of now, we can’t yet,” said Casimero.
Read: Frontliners exempted from e-scooter ban
However, the CCTO will give leeway to frontliners and workers for them to use their e-scooters as long as they use it to go to work and go home.
The CCTO will not apprehend, cite, or impound the vehicles of users that can present their company identification cards and certificate of employment (COE).
This is applicable to all major thoroughfares as well as secondary streets in the city.
The CCTO also will not apprehend scoot
er users within the barangay roads and private roads as Mayor Edgardo Labella specifically ordered that the public be allowed to use the e-scooters for short distance traveling.
Still, while the ordinance has not yet been suspended, Casimero urged e-scooter users, who are not frontliners, to refrain from plying any major and secondary roads.
She assured them that the Bike Lane Adhoc Committee was already working on their request to the City Council for the temporary suspension of the ordinance and the drafting of regulation for e-scooter use. /dbs