Motorcycle Ban in Guangzhou

and Two-wheeler Issues in China

Xianyuan Zhu
ITDP, China
xianyuan@itdp-china.org
Source: Weinert, J., et al., The future of electric two-wheelers and
electric vehicles in China. Energy Policy (2008) By 2006, China had a fleet of over
80 Million motorcycles (far more
than any other country)
 China: by far the largest manufacturer of motorized two-wheelers

2 wheelers production in major countries

Source: SIAM 2006

 Source: Argonne National Lab, Dec 2006, citing SSBC 2005

Motorcycle ownership per 1000 people in 2004. The motorcycle fleet increased at an annual
rate of around 17% in China over the last 17 years
 Quanzhou,
Liuzhou,
Fujiang
Guangxi

Xuzhou, Jiangsu
Increased to 148
cities banning
motorcycles by 2006
• Guangzhou led the way in a process of
regulating, containing and eventually
banning motorized 2 and 3 wheelers
• Cities throughout China followed suit
Guangzhou Case Study
In the early 1980s, owning a motorcycle was
equivalent in status terms to having an
expensive imported car today.

In 1978 the number of motorcycles registered

in the Guangzhou urban area was only 3,833.
Most of the owners were overseas Chinese
who had returned from Southeast Asian
countries.
Motorcycle ownership grew rapidly in the
1980s, as Guangzhou’s economy thrived as
one of the coastal open areas.

By 1982 the number of motorcycles registered

in the Guangzhou urban area had increased to
8,892.

By 1988 the number of registered motorcycles

exceeded 100,000 for the first time; a growth
rate of around 40% per year over a decade.
During the early 1990s motorcycle taxis
emerged. The number of motorcycles
increased dramatically.
By 1992 the number of motorcycles registered
in Guangzhou’s urban area exceeded 200,000.
By 1995 the figure had reached 361,000; a
growth rate averaging 20% per year since
1988.

In 1997, the number of motorcycles registered

in the Guangzhou urban area reached their
historical peak of 401,655.
 450,000

400,000

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0
1978 1982 1988 1992 1995 1997 2000

Registered motorcycle fleet in Guangzhou (may be only around half the actual fleet)
 Guangzhou 1984: negligible cars and motorcycles. 94% of trips: walk, bicycle, bus
45.0
39.2
40.0
34.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
19.4
20.0
15.0
10.0
4.6
5.0 2.3 0.4 0.3
0.0
walk bicycle bus ferry official car & motorcycle taxi
shuttle bus
35%
30%
30%
25%
25%
20%
20%
15%
10%
10%
5% 5% 5%
5%
0%
walk bicycle bus ferry car motorcycle taxi

By 2003 motorcycles accounted for more than one quarter of non-walking trips
 Reasons for imposing
the ban on motorcycles

• Noise pollution
• Air pollution
• Traffic crashes and fatalities
• Illegal motorcycle taxi operation
• Impact on traffic order
• Impact on the image of Guangzhou
• Theft and security
Impact in narrow streets
Impact in narrow streets
Impact in narrow streets
Motorcycles parking and driving on walkways
Motorcycles parking and driving on walkways
 Progressive implementation of the ban
• Oct. 1991: from 7:00am to 7:00pm motorcycles not
registered in the city were not allowed to operate
within the eight Guangzhou urban districts. Only 500
motorcycle registrations would be accepted each
month.
• 1995: No new motorcycle registrations accepted
• March 1998: stopped processing motorcycle scrapping,
updating of registration information, or claims for loss
of registration markings
• 1999: Motorcycles not registered in the urban area
totally prohibited from operation within the city
 Progressive implementation of the ban
• Nov. 2000: motorcycles and three-wheelers registered outside
the respective areas were prohibited from operating within an
additional four areas outside the main Guangzhou urban area:
Panyu District, Huadu District, Zengcheng City, and Conghua
City
• 2001: working group set up on banning motorcycles
• Jan. 2002: Guangzhou City Motorcycle Scrapping
Management Regulation came into force. Motorcycles
registered more than 15 years ago must be scrapped, except
for motorcycles which met current emission standards
• Dec. 2002: registration of new motorcycles in two adjoining
districts (Panyu and Huadu) and cities (Conghua and
Zengcheng) halted
 Progressive implementation of the ban

• Feb. 2003: Mandatory scrapping date for motorcycles and

three-wheelers adjusted to 10 yrs and 8 yrs respectively
• Apr. 2003: Any motorcycle registered before 1 Jan. 1990
must be scrapped immediately. Motorcycles registered
between 1990 and 1993 must be scrapped by 1 Oct. 2003
• Mar. 2004: "Announcement on Restricting Motorcycles
Running on Road Sections in Some Urban Regions",
restricting motorcycles in the downtown area, applied in 3
phases.
 Progressive implementation of the ban
• The first phase from 1 May 2004 banned motorcycles each
day from 9:00am to 4:30pm, and again from 8:30pm to
5:00am the next day .
Progressive implementation of the ban

• The second phase, from 1 January 2006, banned

motorcycles from running on Dongfeng Road for
24 hours each day.

• The third phase, from 1 January 2007, banned all

motorcycles from the urban area, 24 hours each
day.
Physical anti-motorcycle measures
Stairs and steep ramp which are inaccessible to motorcycles
Motorcycle barrier with attendant in Tangxia
Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou Sports Centre
A railing protruding over the bike ramp combined with stairs for the first few metres
allows bicycles but not motorcycles to pass this bridge at the Guangzhou Sports Centre.
A hooked staff for snaring motorcyclists in Sanyuanli
 Complementary measures
• Informal transit, cycle rickshaws
Minibuses have replaced motorcycle taxis in Ruibaoxiang
1 yuan minibuses provide a local service replacing motorcycle taxis in Lijiao
Cycle rickshaws in Guangyuan Xincun
Cycle rickshaws in Lijiao
 Complementary measures
• Public transport: More than 50 short bus
routes were introduced to help meet demand
previously served by motorcycle taxis
Route 401: Small streets; urban villages; 1-3km long; 1 yuan fare
Route 403
One of the small buses used to meet demand previously served by motorcycle taxis
 Complementary measures
• Compensation for motorcycle scrapping
 Compensation for scrapping
• The “Guangzhou City Compensation Incentive Plan for Motorcycles
Scrapped or Moved Out of Urban Areas," required payment of
compensation for each motorcycle which was scrapped. By May
2006 more than 5,000 motorcycles had already been scrapped,
and the total compensation paid exceeded 6.27 million yuan
(US$920,000); around US$180 per motorcycle.
• Compensation was calculated according to whether the
motorcycle was used for less than 10 years, or between 10 and 13
years. (For motorcycles older than 13 years, no compensation was
paid.)
• For motorcycles used for less than 10 years the compensation was
calculated according to the cost when it was bought (according to
the receipt) minus the average depreciation over a ten year
period, with a minimum of 1,260 yuan (~US$150 by earlier
exchange rate)
• Incentive for owners to scrap motorcycles sooner rather than later.
 Complementary measures
• Employment support for displaced motorcycle
drivers
– Several special labour fairs were held to provide
support to people previously employed as
motorcycle taxi drivers or elsewhere in the
motorcycle sector to find new jobs.
 Complementary measures
• Special enforcement measures
– In motorcycle gathering places, ‘collective combat’
operations were mounted, including the use of
plain-clothes as well as uniformed policemen and
officials, mobile equipment inventory, ‘ambushes’,
and other methods to seize illegal vehicles
Motorcycles being taken away for scrapping
Scrapping
 Complementary measures
• Selective enforcement in some outlying areas,
and in some urban villages with heavy small
industry and trading activities
Xinzhou
Wanshengwei metro station, September 2008
Kecun
Results of the ban
 Environmental, security, safety and
pedestrian amenity improvements
• Noise pollution, especially in narrow alleyways and at
night, was greatly reduced, and significant reductions in
carbon monoxide, particulates and nitrogen oxide
emissions were reported.
• Crashes significantly declined in January to August 2007
(when there were no motorcycles) compared to the same
period a year earlier. Crashes declined by 17.5%, deaths
by 2.2%, injuries by 20.4%, and property losses by 42.3%.
• In Guangzhou from January to August 2007 there were
52,141 criminal cases, a decline of 15.3% compared with
the corresponding period a year earlier. Snatch theft
cases declined by 44.3% over the same period.
• The quality of the walking environment throughout the
city has been greatly improved.
 Traffic and mode split impact

• Traffic speeds have rapidly deteriorated over

the last two years

• But the motorcycle ban may not be the main

contributor
 Half shifted to buses. And although nearly 20% of
motorcycle riders shifted to cars, the same percentage
shifted to bicycles, and nearly 10% walked.

metro other
pedestrian 2% 2%
9%

car
18% bus
51%

bicycle
18%

Short term motorcycle mode shifts following the ban from 1 January 2007
 Concluding remarks
• Banning of a major mode, widely seen as
successful and supported by communities,
despite probable adverse impact on congestion
• Draconian but not crude
• Same approach being taken in nearly all
Chinese cities, and even in many counties
• Local industry not necessarily an obstacle
Source: Weinert, J., et al., The future of electric two-wheelers and
electric vehicles in China. Energy Policy (2008) By 2006, China had a fleet of over
80 Million motorcycles (far more
than any other country)
July 2008: Electric bike taxis have replaced MC taxis outside Lujiang metro station entrance.
 For all photos:

www.itdp-china.org