Motorcycle Ban in Guangzhou and Two-wheeler Issues in China

Xianyuan ZhuITDP, China

xianyuan@itdp-china.org

By 2006, China had a fleet of over 80 Million motorcycles (far more than any other country)

Source: Weinert, J., et al., The future of electric two-wheelers and electric vehicles in China. Energy Policy (2008)

2 wheelers production in major countries

Source: SIAM 2006

China: by far the largest manufacturer of motorized two-wheelers

Motorcycle ownership per 1000 people in 2004. The motorcycle fleet increased at an annual rate of around 17% in China over the last 17 years

Source: Argonne National Lab, Dec 2006, citing SSBC 2005

Xuzhou, Jiangsu

Quanzhou, FujiangLiuzhou,

Guangxi

Increased to 148 cities banning motorcycles by 2006

• Guangzhou led the way in a process of regulating, containing and eventually banning motorized 2 and 3 wheelers

• Cities throughout China followed suit

Guangzhou Case Study

In the early 1980s, owning a motorcycle was equivalent in status terms to having an expensive imported car today.

In 1978 the number of motorcycles registered in the Guangzhou urban area was only 3,833. Most of the owners were overseas Chinese who had returned from Southeast Asian countries.

Motorcycle ownership grew rapidly in the 1980s, as Guangzhou’s economy thrived as one of the coastal open areas.

By 1982 the number of motorcycles registered in the Guangzhou urban area had increased to 8,892.

By 1988 the number of registered motorcycles exceeded 100,000 for the first time; a growth rate of around 40% per year over a decade.

During the early 1990s motorcycle taxis emerged. The number of motorcycles increased dramatically.

By 1992 the number of motorcycles registered in Guangzhou’s urban area exceeded 200,000. By 1995 the figure had reached 361,000; a growth rate averaging 20% per year since 1988.

In 1997, the number of motorcycles registered in the Guangzhou urban area reached their historical peak of 401,655.

Registered motorcycle fleet in Guangzhou (may be only around half the actual fleet)

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

1978 1982 1988 1992 1995 1997 2000

By 2003 motorcycles accounted for more than one quarter of non-walking trips

39.234.0

19.4

2.34.6

0.4 0.30.05.0

10.015.020.025.030.035.040.045.0

walk bicycle bus ferry official car & shuttle bus

motorcycle taxi

Guangzhou 1984: negligible cars and motorcycles. 94% of trips: walk, bicycle, bus

25%

10%

30%

5% 5%

20%

5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

walk bicycle bus ferry car motorcycle taxi

Reasons for imposingthe ban on motorcycles

• Noise pollution

• Air pollution

• Traffic crashes and fatalities

• Illegal motorcycle taxi operation

• Impact on traffic order

• Impact on the image of Guangzhou

• Theft and security

Impact in narrow streets

Impact in narrow streets

Impact in narrow streets

Motorcycles parking and driving on walkways

Motorcycles parking and driving on walkways

Progressive implementation of the ban• Oct. 1991: from 7:00am to 7:00pm motorcycles not

registered in the city were not allowed to operate within the eight Guangzhou urban districts. Only 500 motorcycle registrations would be accepted each month.

• 1995: No new motorcycle registrations accepted

• March 1998: stopped processing motorcycle scrapping, updating of registration information, or claims for loss of registration markings

• 1999: Motorcycles not registered in the urban area totally prohibited from operation within the city

Progressive implementation of the ban• Nov. 2000: motorcycles and three-wheelers registered outside

the respective areas were prohibited from operating within an additional four areas outside the main Guangzhou urban area: Panyu District, Huadu District, Zengcheng City, and Conghua City

• 2001: working group set up on banning motorcycles

• Jan. 2002: Guangzhou City Motorcycle Scrapping Management Regulation came into force. Motorcycles registered more than 15 years ago must be scrapped, except for motorcycles which met current emission standards

• Dec. 2002: registration of new motorcycles in two adjoining districts (Panyu and Huadu) and cities (Conghua and Zengcheng) halted

Progressive implementation of the ban

• Feb. 2003: Mandatory scrapping date for motorcycles and three-wheelers adjusted to 10 yrs and 8 yrs respectively

• Apr. 2003: Any motorcycle registered before 1 Jan. 1990 must be scrapped immediately. Motorcycles registered between 1990 and 1993 must be scrapped by 1 Oct. 2003

• Mar. 2004: "Announcement on Restricting Motorcycles Running on Road Sections in Some Urban Regions", restricting motorcycles in the downtown area, applied in 3 phases.

Progressive implementation of the ban• The first phase from 1 May 2004 banned motorcycles each

day from 9:00am to 4:30pm, and again from 8:30pm to 5:00am the next day .

Progressive implementation of the ban

• The second phase, from 1 January 2006, banned motorcycles from running on Dongfeng Road for 24 hours each day.

• The third phase, from 1 January 2007, banned all motorcycles from the urban area, 24 hours each day.

Physical anti-motorcycle measures

Stairs and steep ramp which are inaccessible to motorcycles

Motorcycle barrier with attendant in Tangxia

Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou Sports Centre

A railing protruding over the bike ramp combined with stairs for the first few metres allows bicycles but not motorcycles to pass this bridge at the Guangzhou Sports Centre.

A hooked staff for snaring motorcyclists in Sanyuanli

Complementary measures

• Informal transit, cycle rickshaws

Minibuses have replaced motorcycle taxis in Ruibaoxiang

1 yuan minibuses provide a local service replacing motorcycle taxis in Lijiao

Cycle rickshaws in Guangyuan Xincun

Cycle rickshaws in Lijiao

Complementary measures

• Public transport: More than 50 short bus routes were introduced to help meet demand previously served by motorcycle taxis

Route 401: Small streets; urban villages; 1-3km long; 1 yuan fare

Route 403

One of the small buses used to meet demand previously served by motorcycle taxis

Complementary measures

• Compensation for motorcycle scrapping

Compensation for scrapping• The “Guangzhou City Compensation Incentive Plan for Motorcycles

Scrapped or Moved Out of Urban Areas," required payment of compensation for each motorcycle which was scrapped. By May 2006 more than 5,000 motorcycles had already been scrapped, and the total compensation paid exceeded 6.27 million yuan (US$920,000); around US$180 per motorcycle.

• Compensation was calculated according to whether the motorcycle was used for less than 10 years, or between 10 and 13 years. (For motorcycles older than 13 years, no compensation was paid.)

• For motorcycles used for less than 10 years the compensation was calculated according to the cost when it was bought (according to the receipt) minus the average depreciation over a ten year period, with a minimum of 1,260 yuan (~US$150 by earlier exchange rate)

• Incentive for owners to scrap motorcycles sooner rather than later.

Complementary measures

• Employment support for displaced motorcycle drivers– Several special labour fairs were held to provide

support to people previously employed as motorcycle taxi drivers or elsewhere in the motorcycle sector to find new jobs.

Complementary measures

• Special enforcement measures– In motorcycle gathering places, ‘collective combat’

operations were mounted, including the use of plain-clothes as well as uniformed policemen and officials, mobile equipment inventory, ‘ambushes’, and other methods to seize illegal vehicles

Motorcycles being taken away for scrapping

Scrapping

Complementary measures

• Selective enforcement in some outlying areas, and in some urban villages with heavy small industry and trading activities

Xinzhou

Wanshengwei metro station, September 2008

Kecun

Results of the ban

Environmental, security, safety and pedestrian amenity improvements

• Noise pollution, especially in narrow alleyways and at night, was greatly reduced, and significant reductions in carbon monoxide, particulates and nitrogen oxide emissions were reported.

• Crashes significantly declined in January to August 2007 (when there were no motorcycles) compared to the same period a year earlier. Crashes declined by 17.5%, deaths by 2.2%, injuries by 20.4%, and property losses by 42.3%.

• In Guangzhou from January to August 2007 there were 52,141 criminal cases, a decline of 15.3% compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. Snatch theft cases declined by 44.3% over the same period.

• The quality of the walking environment throughout the city has been greatly improved.

Traffic and mode split impact

• Traffic speeds have rapidly deteriorated over the last two years

• But the motorcycle ban may not be the main contributor

Short term motorcycle mode shifts following the ban from 1 January 2007

bus51%

bicycle18%

car18%

pedestrian9%

metro2%

other2%

Half shifted to buses. And although nearly 20% ofmotorcycle riders shifted to cars, the same percentagesh i f t e d t o b i c y c l e s , a nd n ea r l y 10% wa l ked .

Concluding remarks

• Banning of a major mode, widely seen as successful and supported by communities, despite probable adverse impact on congestion

• Draconian but not crude

• Same approach being taken in nearly all Chinese cities, and even in many counties

• Local industry not necessarily an obstacle

By 2006, China had a fleet of over 80 Million motorcycles (far more than any other country)

Source: Weinert, J., et al., The future of electric two-wheelers and electric vehicles in China. Energy Policy (2008)

July 2008: Electric bike taxis have replaced MC taxis outside Lujiang metro station entrance.

For all photos:

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