Mandaue City hall. | CDN Digital file photo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The use of electric bikes or e-bikes will soon be prohibited in Mandaue City.
The City Traffic Board on Tuesday, Nov. 26, made the decision to ban e-bikes as a means to regulate traffic.
In addition, e-bikes are not registered by the city government and should not be made to compete with tricycles. E-bike drivers are not even required to secure a driver’s license, said Hyll Retuya, the acting head of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM).
“We received reports man gud nga there are attempts proliferating e-bikes dinhi sa Mandaue, maong sa amoa before na sila maka sprout, dili nalang namo tugutan,” Retuya said.
“When we speak of current circumstances, Mandaue City is not like Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay wherein imong makita gani nga ang e-bikes nila didto grabe. Daghan na gyud kaayo. Murag para nako uncontrollable, with due respect sa mga LGUs,” he added.
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But before they start to implement the ban on e-bikes, a massive information campaign will be done on the matter, Retuya said.
When they start to implement the ban, Retuya said that they will also start to impound e-bikes that will continue ply the streets of Mandaue City.
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Ban on e-bikes
Retuya said that TEAM is exerting an effort to ban tricycles along the national highways. But while they do this, they have noticed that e-bikes are now starting to proliferate on city streets, thus the need to put an end to it this early.
The ban of tricycles from nationals highways was in compliance with a memorandum from the Department of Interior and Local Government to ensure safety and for road clearing reasons.
Last February, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) passed Regulation No. 24-022 series of 2024, prohibiting e-bikes and e-trikes, as well as tricycles, pedicabs, pushcarts, and kuligligs from national, circumferential, and radial roads in Metro Manila.
The ban was anchored on the escalating presence of light electric vehicles on the streets and the corresponding surge in road accidents involving these.
In October, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) also decided to temporarily suspend the registration of light electric vehicles (LEV) such as e-trikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters, while they review the requirements for its registration.
This was in line with the Department of Transportation’s order for LTO “to withhold issuances which are inconsistent with the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), which promotes the use of e-vehicles and sustainable energy.”