Chinese ban motorcycles in city centre

[Bob]

Officials in the Chinese city of Guangzhou have banned motorcycles and scooters from the city centre. As of 1st January 2007, 260,000 or so registered motorcycles will be forced off the road. The result of this action is that a workforce estimated to run to “Tens of thousands” will be forced out of work, as they will no longer be able to use the bikes to make deliveries or travel to and from their place of work.

Guangzhou is China's fifth-largest auto market, with 900,000 vehicles on its roads. As bike and scooter prices fell, numbers on the road have soared. City officials are blaming not only the 260,000 registered motorcycles but the estimated 100,000 additional unregistered bikes and another 100,000 or so electric bicycles for increased pollution.

[SwanTiger]

Interesting.

I presume the increase in pollution is because most of the motorcycles are two stroke scooter type contraptions? 260,000 is a lot of bikes in one city, be nice to own a tyre shop or two over there, or something else that would represent a passive income like oil or petrol, or even light bulbs.

[Flyingpony]

Interesting how they also blamed the "other 100,000 or so electric bicycles for increased pollution". Would this be because they've placed a coal feed power plant on the city limit and it's needing to churn out more electricity?

I hope they've supplemented this loss of scooter usage with additional public transport. I'm assuming they've already banned cars from the city centre, it'll get 100x worse if they've not already because people would take their car instead of the scooter.

[jrandom]

Ah, the Chinese obsession with telling people what to do. Guangzhou's probably feeling left out in the cold; motorcycles are already banned in Shenzhen, so they're playing catch-up for no particularly good reason.

Who cares if people lose their incomes and starve to death? Human lives are China's primary natural resource.

I did see one guy with HK plates on a Harley roaring down the SZ freeway once. He could probably afford to pay off the cops.

[gijoe1313]

When I was there, a myriad of on street mechanics and stores catering for two wheelers were everywhere. Heck they had their shop set up from a bike or towing a trailer! Another shortsighted solution, which will see these people rejigging their businesses to earn a coin ... hard life for them

[Big Dave]

Thank goodness for Taipei - when I was last there, there were 4 million people and 1 million motorcycles registered. And it was carnage.

[ManDownUnder]

Ah, the Chinese obsession with telling people what to do.

Yeah - thank God we don't suffer that here in Helenzone

[Flyingpony]

Thank goodness for Taipei - when I was last there, there were 4 million people and 1 million motorcycles registered. And it was carnage.

I've been in Taipei and rode scooters on their roads. It's not carnage at all Big Dave, it's all in harmony with patterns. Whilst the ability to accelerate is very important, having damn good brakes is even more so ...

[Steam]

I rode in Taipei for a year, and I count myself lucky to have gotten away with no injuries.

No safety gear, a little open-face, open-necked lid for a helmet.

My Taiwanese friends said "you need to be going faster than the rest of the traffic, that way you won't be killed by something coming from behind you"

And when I asked about what uncontrolled intersection rules were, they couldn't tell me!! A whole room of 20 drivers couldn't tell me the road rules for intersections!!

[placidfemme]

And when I asked about what uncontrolled intersection rules were, they couldn't tell me!! A whole room of 20 drivers couldn't tell me the road rules for intersections!!

Are you sure you weren't in auckland when you asked that question?

[Switch]

I bet their Police are gona make a good revenue off the people who don't want to follow the new rule

[jrandom]

Yeah - thank God we don't suffer that here in Helenzone

The main difference is that in China, people do what they're told.

My Taiwanese friends said "you need to be going faster than the rest of the traffic, that way you won't be killed by something coming from behind you"

Perfectly sensible advice for riding a bike just about anywhere.

[ManDownUnder]

The main difference is that in China, people do what they're told.

The principal reason being the punishment meted out in our two fair cuntries. $200 in NZ, or both kidneys donated in China.

It doesn't address the fact that the state meddles too much in our daily lives.

[jrandom]

The principal reason being the punishment meted out in our two fair cuntries.

It's not so much a fear of punishment, IMHO. More that it's beaten into them from Day One that someone will be along shortly to tell them what to do, and they shouldn't think too hard about anything in the meantime.

Fucking sad-arse country that place is.

[ManDownUnder]

It's not so much a fear of punishment, IMHO. More that it's beaten into them from Day One that someone will be along shortly to tell them what to do, and they shouldn't think too hard about anything in the meantime.

Fucking sad-arse country that place is.

Bang on, but for fun - let me change a word or two - and see how well it applies to NZ...

More that it's obvious from everything around them from Day One that someone will be along shortly with a handout, and they shouldn't think too hard about anything in the meantime.

I won't bother with a copy and paste on that last line. It's not quite true, but edging closer by the day.