CHINA: Soaring fuel prices cause millions of Chinese to abandon their motorbikes and scooters for battery-powered bikes

As China gears up for the Olympic games amid climbing fuel prices, millions of Chinese living in the kingdom of bicycles turn to battery-powered bikes. Bicycles, motorbikes and scooters are a popular means of transportation in China, but for a country that is finding a ways to improve its air as it gears up to host the Beijing Olympics, a new way of travelling is in demand. Now, a new generation of bikes that run on batteries are becoming increasingly popular amongst the public of more than 1.3 billion people. These new bikes, termed "e-bikes" by the Chinese, are electric bikes that resemble a hybrid between a bike and scooter. The bikes have increased in demand in China as the country suffers from the worst fuel shortage in two years amid soaring fuel prices. Over 19 million battery-powered bikes were manufactured in 2006, compared to 12 million in 2005, and only 58,000 in 1998. "The 'e-bikes' are pollution-free, and they are actually products to protect the environment. As our company's chairman put it, it is a revolution to the transportation in Beijing," said He Guiyou, the deputy general manager of the E-Bike World, one of Beijing's biggest electric bike malls. Since the bikes do not use gasoline, it would not contribute to carbon emissions in China, already the biggest emitter of sulphur dioxide and the second-highest producer of carbon dioxide. China has promised to cut emissions of major pollutants by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010, but with an increasing number of cars hitting roads and a fast-growing economy, it failed to meet its annual goal last year. But experts voiced concerns over the lead contained in the electric bike batteries, saying a lead leakage could damage people's health and the environment. "It is true that if the management or recycling of the lead-acid batteries is not good, it will cause pollution," He Guiyou said, but he added that the government had strict regulations and professional measures for battery recycling. He also said the next generation of batteries would contain the much-safer lithium-ion. But the bikes are destined to become fashionable, according to Guo Haiyan, the general secretary of China's Bicycle Association. "China's rapid urbanisation makes the city grow bigger and bigger, so people need to ride electric bikes to get around," Guo said. Overall, electric bikers are happy with their bikes, which costs about 3,000 yuan (400 U.S. dollars). "It is very convenient and fast to drive an electric bike, and you can just recharge it at home when the battery runs out, and there is no noise," said Hu, a 29-year-old Beijinger. But traditional bicycle riders say they feel threatened by electric bikes when on the go. "As bicycle riders, we are on the weak side, and we don't dare to compete with them, and I am quite scared of being knocked down by them," said Li, a workers' union official, who was riding his bicycle home. City governments have warned the danger of the e-bikes, saying they could be "silent killers" since they are less audible than motorbikes. Electric bikes have previously been banned in the southern boom cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Provincial governments in most cities now regulate the speed and sizes of electric bikers and require them to have licenses. Lax local enforcement and an insatiable demand for energy to feed its booming economy continue to undermine China's environmental policy goals. Beijing, has also shut down factories, halted construction and cleared cars from the roads, in an attempt to clean up the city and appease the Olympics, which will be held in the city in August 2008.

ITN Source | November 19, 2007

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