What once was a convenient gadget for getting around villages and compounds has fast become a scourge on the streets. We’re talking about electric bikes or e-bikes, which has massively multiplied in the past few months, popping up in places where they aren’t supposed to be, like EDSA and other major highways.
Now the Land Transportation Office is cracking down on the electric bikes, and have clarified that e-bikes need to be registered just like any other motor vehicle that plys our roads, with the operator possesing the necessary license to use it.
“Hindi ka dapat nago-operate [ng e-bike] kung walang lisensya. Ang presumption, hindi mo alam kasi wala kang training…Ang registration, mandatory requirement iyan para sa insurance,” according to Francis Almora, director of the law enforcement service for the LTO.
That goes against the claims of e-bikes sellers that you do not need to have them registered or have a valid driver’s license when you purchase one from a store.
According to ABS-CBN, the LTO has begun confiscating e-bikes plying the roads of Commonwealth and EDSA, and are intensifying their efforts in the next few days.
