Traffic police officers in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, seize unlicensed electric bikes and freight tricycles in March. (Photo: Chian Daily/Xuan Hui)
(ECNS) -- Shenzhen's crackdown on illegal motorcycles and electric tricycles is not targeted at the courier industry, but rather at various offenders who break traffic rules, said the city's traffic police bureau at a press briefing on Tuesday.
The traffic authority said a total of 17,975 electric vehicles had been seized so far since the campaign began in late March, including 29 registered electric bikes used by the express delivery industry that had violated traffic rules, and 33 electric tricycles found to have illegal modifications.
The campaign has brought notable change to the courier industry, as many couriers say they are "nervous all day."
A supervisor surnamed Luo at STO Express's Shenzhen branch said couriers rely heavily on electric tricycles, and that the policy would have a huge impact on their business.
Shenzhen rolled out a registration policy in 2012, allowing the use of electric bikes in certain industries, such as postal and express delivery services. So far, the city has 43,000 registered electric bikes, with nearly 18,000 in the courier industry, accounting for 41 percent of all industries.
Due to the lack of a national standard for electric tricycles, all electric or gas-powered tricycles in China have been illegally produced, cannot be licensed, and are forbidden to be on roads, the traffic authority said.
However, many courier companies use electric tricycles as the "last mile" solution. That's because a courier worker has to deliver as much as 10 tons of mail and packages on a daily basis, which is too much for a bike, according to a report by the National Business Daily. Moreover, these tricycles are more flexible than cargo vans because of their smaller size.
Data from Shenzhen's express delivery association showed that a total of 19 courier workers have been nabbed on the city's roads since March 21, with 16 having records of driving motor tricycles without a driving license, the report said, adding that 12 of them had returned to their posts by April 4.
According to Chinese media reports, some express delivery enterprises said that they chose to receive or dispatch mails and packages in the hours when traffic police are off duty.
Guo Xiaomei, the secretary-general of the city's express delivery association, said the crackdown will have certain implications on the industry, especially in the early stages, leading to delays in the delivery of mails and packages.
However, a public affairs worker with the country's leading express delivery company, Shunfeng Express, said the crackdown would have little impact on its operations.
Shenzhen also said a transitional period will be given to allow courier companies time to replace existing electric tricycles.
