Electronic bikes (E-bikes) users will soon be required to register their vehicles with the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
In today’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas organized by the Philippine Information Agency, LTO Central Luzon Regional Director Ronnie S. Montejo said that guidelines on the use of e-bikes are now being finalized.
“There have been previous guidelines but a new one that will cover weight and other specifications is now pending approval and signature of the secretary of the Department of Transportation,” Montejo said in the forum.
While waiting on a more comprehensive set of rules, Montejo said that e-bikes are prohibited to ply major highways and expressways.
He urged owners and would-be buyers of e-bikes to heed the advise of sellers on the proper utilization of these light vehicles “in order to avoid impoundment”.
He also said that LGUs are empowered to implement their own policies, pending the issuance of the new guidelines.
Atty. Sushen Jimbel Mariz M. Sison-Lazatin, Chief, Operations Division, LTO said that e-bikes may be allowed to utilize the outermost portions or bike lanes of highways and must not exceed 50 kilometers per hour speed.
She said that “status quo” is in effect while a memorandum order on enforcement of rules for e-bikes has yet to be issued. Bike lanes, she said, were put in place to protect users from four-wheeled or big vehicles.
