Public offers comments on electric motorcycle rules

The Shanghai municipal government's Legislative Affairs Office heard suggestions Tuesday about a draft of regulations on bicycles and electric motorcycles.

The draft, which the Shanghai municipal government issued in February, included rules that prohibited drivers from carrying more than one passenger and the passenger must be under the age of 12.

A police officer, Lu Feng, took issue with the age restriction, saying the vehicles are important to some parents who pick up their children from school. "People will just replace their bicycles with cars if carrying passengers is prohibited," Lu said at the meeting.

Jin Kangsheng, a local Shanghai citizen suggested that senior citizens over the age of 60 should not carry a passenger for safety reasons.

However, Zhang Jian, representative of the disabled, said that the rules shouldn't prohibit elderly from carrying children on their bicycles. He also said exception should be made for motorized pedicabs - the three-wheel motorcycles that government allows the disabled to drive. "For pedicabs for the disabled, up to two passengers should be allowed because many disabled people need another person to accompany them, as well as volunteers," Zhang said.

Others attendees said the size of the passengers should be the main consideration. "A passenger's height and weight should be limited," said He Saifei, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Zhejiang Committee.