Recently, Guangzhou youths have become obsessed with using motorised wheelchairs (e-wheelchairs) as a means of transportation, riding them to work and during shopping and dining.
This might be a result of the regulations implemented in this southern Chinese city on the use and parking of motorised bicycles (e-bikes). Since July this year, Guangzhou’s traffic police and agencies for market regulation and transport have launched a citywide crackdown on illegal installations and modifications of e-bikes.
Tough restrictions on e-bikes
According to Southern Metropolis Daily, e-bike modifications refer to changes made to its software and hardware. Software modifications include using software and programmes to remove speed limiters, such as adjusting the maximum speed from 25 km/h to 50 km/h or more. Hardware modifications include changing parts such as the battery, motor, controls, wheels, rims or suspension, to reach the user’s ideal speed.
Illegal installations refer to the addition of external accessories such as rear view mirrors, storage boxes, seats and hoods.
In early June, Guangzhou drafted a notice on managing the use of e-bikes, with several roads in the city coming under restricted zones, including those in central districts such as Tianhe, Zhuhai, Yuexiu and Baiyun, along with restricted timings such as all day, 7:30am to 7:30pm, or morning and evening peak periods.
The news immediately sparked controversy. Supporters said that it is about time as there are too many e-bikes taking up too much space on the road, causing severe traffic congestion in Guangzhou. But those whose movement would be affected strongly objected to this new rule, and asked why private vehicles are not banned instead if traffic is so bad.
Why Guangzhou?
According to a report by China Newsweek, as of late March 2023, there were 3.22 million registered e-bikes in Guangzhou, but the actual number might be higher.
In 2021, figures from Guangzhou’s e-bike association showed that it might have over 4 million units under it, while the Wechat account of Guangzhou’s public security department estimated that there are nearly 5 million e-bikes in Guangzhou, and counting. Similarly, illegal actions involving e-bikes are also rapidly rising.
According to an announcement by the Guangzhou traffic police, in 2021, there were 1.12 million cases of illegal modifications on e-bikes across the city, an increase of 169% year-on-year. The agency found over 1.6 million such cases in 2022, a significant increase from the previous year.
Even if they get caught, fines are light, so many people simply don’t care.
A traffic police officer in Guangzhou told China Newsweek that in contrast with private vehicles, current traffic laws and regulations do not effectively restrict the large number of e-bikes, so when it comes to law enforcement, “it’s impossible to catch every violation. Even if they get caught, fines are light, so many people simply don’t care.”
Penalties for violations involving e-bikes are currently much lighter than for motor vehicles. In Guangzhou, those on e-bikes that violate non-motor vehicle traffic light signals get a warning or a fine of 20 RMB (US$2.80), while those who ride unregistered e-bikes on the road get a warning or a fine of 50 RMB.
In contrast, motor vehicle drivers that violate traffic light signals will be slapped with a deduction of six points on their driving record and a fine of 200 RMB. Also, drivers of motor vehicles found on the road without a licence plate, or with it deliberately covered, defaced or improperly installed, will incur a deduction of 12 points and a fine of 200 RMB.
Top-down policies, bottom-up countermeasures?
There is no denying that the regulatory measures introduced by the authorities on e-bikes are aimed at road safety. However, e-bike riders in Guangzhou who are accustomed to past freedom may feel restricted.
A Guangzhou netizen wrote on Weibo, “I used to ride my e-bike to school, but now there are so many restrictions, especially the prohibition on installing rear view mirrors. This seriously undermines the safety of cycling!” Many netizens on Chinese social media platforms shared the same opinion.
Some netizens also said that e-bikes are a common means of transportation for people in Guangzhou. While to some extent they may contribute to messy traffic, official measures have made e-bikes less convenient and this has significantly impacted the lives of local residents.
Some youths said that they switched from e-bikes to e-wheelchairs to get around the measures imposed on e-bikes by the authorities.
“Law enforcement ought to be sympathetic and credible in the eyes of the public, not one-size-fits-all!”
“Don't hold people responsible for finding loopholes if [the authorities] are doing this.”
“As the saying goes, there are policies from the top and countermeasures from below. That’s ‘alternative protest’.”
According to online media HK01 and video clips and posts on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, some young people in Guangzhou have started navigating the roads in e-wheelchairs. Some use it to go to work, others during shopping and dining; they don’t look disabled, and some are playing with their phones and sipping drinks in their e-wheelchairs.
Some youths said that they switched from e-bikes to e-wheelchairs to get around the measures imposed on e-bikes by the authorities. Others said that the traffic police do not bother them when they use e-wheelchairs, and they don’t have to wear helmets or find parking spaces, making it “very convenient”.
Young people are using e-wheelchairs
In fact, careful observation of Chinese social media shows that it is not just young people in Guangzhou who are interested in e-wheelchairs.
According to China News Finance (中新财经), in the Q&A section of Chinese e-commerce platforms for e-wheelchairs, many consumers are very interested in the device, asking, “Can healthy young people buy them? I’m a little fed up with walking every day.”
Even more appealing, e-wheelchairs today are powerful, and capable of handling general bumpy road conditions and climbing low curbs.
“Can college students use them?”
“It’s a magic tool for grabbing food in the cafeteria!”
“Young people can use them too, it saves energy when going out.”
One consumer told China News Finance, “I bought it for my elderly family members, but I occasionally use it myself out of curiosity. Besides, we’ll need it sooner or later.”
Another shared their thoughts on using one to go shopping, saying, “It’s much more comfortable than a sofa. You can move, sit or lie down in it. That’s ‘ergonomics’.”
Some Weibo users said that compared with e-bikes, e-wheelchairs are inexpensive and come with various “privileges”, such as being allowed to travel on sidewalks and not requiring registration. Even more appealing, e-wheelchairs today are powerful, and capable of handling general bumpy road conditions and climbing low curbs.
China News Finance also learned from a retailer that the average speed of the wheelchairs ranges from 1.2 to 6 km/h, with five adjustable speed levels. The slowest speed of 1.2 km/h is equivalent to the walking speed of an elderly person, while the fastest speed is comparable to a normal person’s jogging speed.
So, with all these advantages, e-wheelchair sales continue to rise.
Data from JD Health, China’s largest online medical and health platform, show that in just the first half of 2023, the number of orders for e-wheelchairs grew by over 60%. Data from the product recommendation website smzdm.com also indicate that during this year’s “618” shopping festival, e-wheelchairs showed particularly significant growth, with a 44% year-on-year increase in total transaction volume. Online information shows that the average price of e-wheelchairs in China is around 4,000 RMB.
E-wheelchairs a traffic violation?
However, compared with price and performance, more people are concerned about whether it is a traffic violation to use e-wheelchairs to get around.
The Public Security Traffic Management Bureau of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau told China News Finance, “E-wheelchairs are not modes of transportation, and so they are not subject to the same regulations.” In other words, it is not illegal to get around in e-wheelchairs.
Some online views have it that young people getting around in e-wheelchairs is an indirect expression of their dissatisfaction with the authorities...
Yan Bing, senior partner at Jurisino Law Group, said that the original intention behind designing e-wheelchairs was to serve people with disabilities, but there is no regulation stating that only people with disabilities can purchase and use them. In practice, older people with limited mobility but are not classified as disabled are also a significant group of e-wheelchair users. Yan said, “It’s currently a moral judgement whether physically healthy individuals should ride e-wheelchairs.”
Yan added that a fundamental principle in civil law is that “what is not prohibited is allowed”. So, it may not be considered illegal for physically healthy young people to use e-wheelchairs on public roads, although they may be negatively judged based on safety concerns and the efficiency of public transportation.
Some online views have it that young people getting around in e-wheelchairs is an indirect expression of their dissatisfaction with the authorities — opinions differ on whether or not this is true.
Essentially, the e-wheelchair trend among young people in Guangzhou and across China has sparked considerable controversy, as regulations on e-wheelchairs are relatively lenient. However, if a large number of able-bodied people were to use e-wheelchairs, it would inevitably put pressure on urban transportation and pose safety concerns. Furthermore, it could be seen as exploiting regulatory loopholes, which makes it difficult to justify morally.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as "广州年轻人掀起电动轮椅热潮？".
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