CALAMBA CITY (PIA) -- The city government of Biñan will now require owners of electric bicycles and scooters to register their vehicles as the local ordinance covering this requirement has taken effect.

City Ordinance 21-2023 entitled Electric Vehicle Registration Ordinance in the City of Biñan was enacted in December and will be in effect this month. It orders all personal mobility scooters, electric scooters, e-bicycles under Category L1a and Category L2a, or those that can reach a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour to be registered with the Biñan City Tricycle Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The ordinance also declares that e-bicycles, which fall under the categories L1b, L2a, and L2b, are only allowed in barangay and private roads, and may pass main thoroughfares and national roads but only when crossing another road. 

Drivers of L2b electronic bikes, electric motorcycles, e-tricycles, quad bikes, e-cars, e-SUV, and e-trucks, on the other hand are required to possess a driver’s license. The vehicles are also required to get  registedwith the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

The ordinance moreover requires sellers and distributors of EVs to have the vehicles registered before releasing the same to its owner-buyers.

Registration of units range from P600 for privately owned and personal use vehicles, while P700 for those for-hire units. Registration commenced on January 3-24, 2023 via online platform.

But according to Biñan City Public Order and Safety Office chief Rommel Lim, they have not started apprehending unregistered electronic vehicles to give way to the information dissemination campaign that the city government will roll out. 

Lim noted that his office is not against the usage of e-bike, but regulation of its usage particularly along the national highway is necessary.

“We are not against the usage of e-bikes, we are just regulating it. We are also not banning e-bikes, we’re just limiting it. We are in favor of e-bikes, if we are talking about lessening air pollution.”

Lim said that the measure is just for the protection of motorists’ well-being and safety while traveling on the road and one of the peace and order initiatives of the city. 

“It is a part of the anti-criminality campaign of the city of Biñan to ensure that all our vehicles are safe, and if carnapped, will be easily identified or found as it is registered in our city,” Lim said.

Biñan is the first local government unit in Laguna and one of the first cities in the country to pass an ordinance for e-vehicle regulation.

In November 2023, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza said in a public forum he mulls the registration of e-bikes using public roads and main thoroughfare, regardless of their maximum speed. (CH/PIA-Laguna; with reports from Biñan City Information Office)