Users of electric bikes are protesting government’s move to regulate the application of this type of vehicle on the country’s roadways, crying that it will be burdensome, however Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has hit back, noting that the measure is needed to guarantee road safety.
In May, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act allow electric bikes to be subjected to the same regulations as motorcycles in a move that was intended to address the alarming increase in road fatalities and incidents involving this category of vehicles.
Effective July 4, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) began to register e-bikes at its Licence Revenue Office, Lamaha Railway Embankment, Camp and Lamaha Streets, Georgetown and Integrated Regional Tax Offices (IRTOs) countrywide.
Among the requirements for registration, persons must be he holder of a valid driver’s licence to operate the e-bikes on the country’s roadways.
Protest
However, on Thursday, a handful of persons took to the streets at Blairmont in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) to protest this development.
“We don’t need no licence,” the protestors chanted as they waved placards which read: “It is an electric bike. It do not have an engine. It do not need licence”; “licence will not stop accident”; “the e-bike help us tremendously in our daily life. Cutting down expense. Transport our children to school”.
Former councillor of the Blairmont-Gelderland Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Tajram Persaud, who is also a religious leader in the community said it is almost impossible for owners to take their e-bikes from Blairmont, Ithaca or Shieldstown to Fort Wellington where the registration is taking pace.
He explained that the bikes do not have enough battery/power to go and owners cannot afford to take the bikes to Fort Wellington by other means.
The residents are calling for an inter-agency outreach involving the GRA, the licensing department and insurance companies in their community.
Meanwhile during Thursday’s protest, some residents argued that they were among the first to purchase the bikes hence government should waver the $6000 registration fee for them.
Reasonable
Weighing in on this development during a broadcast interview on Thursday, Jagdeo contended that “we have to deal with the safety issue”.
“A lot of people are getting killed on the roads because of the lack of safety measures…when you come on the public road, remember there are other users and remember these [vehicles] are silent because they are electric bikes. So, we have to ensure that we can keep the people safe and also others from having accidents.”
Nevertheless, the Vice President accepted that some of the protestors have legitimate concerns which will be addressed.
“There are two groups of people out there. Some who believe that there should be no rules governing the use of these bikes and then another group that have reasonably expressed some concerns that the process of registration could be used as an opportunity for bureaucracy and it could be costly,” he accepted.
Jagdeo made it clear that the government is not interested in using this measure as a money-making scheme, but rather, wants to ensure road users are safe.
“We’re not interested in collecting taxes. We don’t want money for registration from these people. So let me make that clear, that is not a revenue earning measure. I think the idea was to register to bring some control. We have to make this process a simple process. We have to put in some rules in place that would ensure safety but without it becoming burdensome to people. So, they need to give us some time to work this through.”
He emphasised that the measure is not meant to be punitive as government wants persons to be able to use e-bikes but in a safe manner.
Owners of electric motorcycles have been advised to present a completed motor vehicle registration application form, purchase receipt or affidavit of lost purchase receipt (must have relevant revenue stamp) and a valid identification (National ID card, Passport or current Driver’s Licence) when registering their electric motorcycles.
According to the GRA, owners of existing electric motorcycles that do not have a chassis or frame number will be issued a unique identification number by the GRA.
GRA had also noted that it is the responsibility of the owner to engrave this number onto the frame of the motorcycle before proceeding to the Guyana Police Force to apply for the Certificate of Fitness.
It was also announced that the standard rate for registration and motor vehicle revenue licence will apply and that persons must be the holder of a valid driver’s licence to use these electric motorcycles on the roadways.
The GRA had also said in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF), it will allow a three-month voluntary registration period, after which, the law will be enforced by both agencies.
Meanwhile, it was also noted that the GPF has been taking steps to educate road users on the recent amendments made to the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Cap 51:02 about the regulation of e-bikes.
