San Juan City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) President Francis Zamora is eyeing a unified regulation of e-trikes and e-bikes in the National Capital Region (NCR) following the exponential growth of such vehicles that are being used even in national roads where they are not allowed.
"Meron na pong proposal from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic office and it would be presented to the members on Wednesday. Of course, I will be there to attend, together with my fellow mayors and Chairman (Romando) Artes. Papagusapan po natin ang mga proposal na ito at papakinggan din natin yung mga mungkahi ng ibang mga mayors at miyembro ng council and we can also have other stakeholders give suggestions (The MMDA Traffic Office already has a proposal that will be presented to the members on Wednesday. Of course, I will be there to attend, together with my fellow mayors and Chairman (Romando) Artes. We will discuss the proposal and also listen to other suggestions and recommendations of the other mayors and members of the council. We can also have other stakeholders give their suggestions)," Zamora said in a radio interview.
"Nitong mga nakaraang taon ay nakita natin na dumarami ang mga e-vehicles sa kalye, hindi lamang e-trike or e-bikes but even the cars mismo. Nagkakaroon na ng shift to electric cars and yung mga current regulations po ng mga lungsod or even the national government may have to adapt to the changing time dahil nga padami na ng padami ang mga gumagamit nito. (In the past few years, we saw an increase in the number of e-vehicles on our roads, not just e-trikes or e-bikes, but e-cars as well. There has been a shift to electric cars and the current regulations of the cities or even the national government may have to adapt to the changing time because more and more people are using these vehicles)," he added.
The mayor explained that it's difficult for electric vehicles, particularly e-bikes and e-trikes, to be monitored because these are not registered. In case a road accident that involves these vehicles occurs, it is very difficult to determine who is at fault.
"We really have to regulate properly para siguraduhing yung mga sasakyan na ito ay talagang nakaregister. Kung sakaling may mabangga o may maaksidente, alam kung sino hahabulin, are they really authorized to be on the road, anong kalye ba sila pwedeng payagan, so yan yung mga bagay po na papagusapan natin and what we are trying to achieve here is to have a unified regulation across Metro Manila (We really have to regulate properly to ensure that these vehicles are registered. If ever they become involved in an accident, we will immediately know who is at fault and liable, if they really are authorized to be on the road, and on what roads or thoroughfares are they allowed to pass through. These are the things that we will be discussing on Wednesday. What we are trying to achieve here is to have a unified regulation across Metro manila)," Zamora stressed.
"Halimbawa, yung motorsiklo dapat may lisensya yung nagmamaneho nyan, kinakailangan rehistrado yung motor, so ganun din (on e-bikes and e-trikes). If you allow people to use these e-trikes and e-bikes without any registration, without any driver's license, tapos halimbawa, sila ay makabangga or makasagasa or huwag naman sana, makapatay, eh sinong hahabulin ninyo dyan (For example, motorcycle riders should be licensed and their motorcycles should be registered, so that should also be the case for e-bikes and e-trikes. If you allow people to use these e-trikes and e-bikes without any registration, without any driver's license and they will be involved in an accident, then it will be easier to know who is the one liable)," he said adding that this is his personal input on the matter.
"At the end of the day, we are looking after the safety of our people, the riding public, yung mga pedestrians natin. So kailangan talaga mapagusapan natin at magkaroon ng tamang regulation (At the end of the day, we are looking after the safety of our people, the riding public, our pedestrians. So, it is imperative that we tackle this and to have a proper regulation)," the MMC president said.