fbpx
Traffic > Decree

Dissecting DOTr’s order to suspend e-bike bans

A mess that could have been prevented with proper research

DOTr suspended several LEV restrictions as they were found in conflict with EVIDA. PHOTO BY HANS BOSSHARD

Following an order from the Department of Transportation, the Land Transportation Office suspended Light Electric Vehicle registration and required its users to have licenses and wear motorcycle helmets. The memo also suspends delegating to the MMDA and LGUs as to where these vehicles can and cannot be used. It’s a good read, and I do recommend reading it in full, but let us break it down for you.

Apparently, those restrictions were against the law.

LTO suspended several LEV restrictions after DOTr's order. DOCUMENTS FROM LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

RA11697 or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) does exactly what it says on the tin: Develop local industries for electric vehicles. Key among which is promoting electric vehicles by encouraging their adoption through infrastructure and incentives.

While most think only of electric cars, EVIDA actually has multiple provisions for LEVs as well. PHOTO BY HANS BOSSHARD

While most folks think EVs only pertain to electric cars, the law actually makes specific mention of Light Electric Vehicles. They even presented the idea of micromobility being an alternative means of transportation using these LEVs. LGUs are enjoined to create special exclusive lanes for them; private and public buildings are required to include LEVs in exclusive EV parking slots; and LEVs for exclusive private use “shall not be required to register with the DOTr and its attached agencies.”

It’s that last part that’s most damning, and puts to question the regulations that seemingly ignored or misunderstood it.

Several LEV manufacturers apparently felt reluctant to enter the Philippine market, citing the blanket ‘e-bike’ bans. PHOTO BY HANS BOSSHARD

First was LTO’s Administrative Order 2021-039. Issued on May 11, 2021, it sets guidelines for classifying, registering, and operating EVs on public roads, from personal mobility scooters all the way to electric trucks. It’s a pretty in-depth memo seeking to align EV classifications with that of UN ECE regulations, and you can read more about it here.

LTO's amendment meant that all LEVs needed to be registered with them. DOCUMENT FROM LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

Then, on February 21, 2024, LTO issued AO VDM-2024-044. This order deleted AO 2021-039’s Sections 3 and 4, pertaining to rules as to where EVs could be ridden or driven on, what registration and licensing requirements exist, and what MVUC rates are prescribed for them. In their place, a sweeping rule that all EVs requiring licensing and registration when used on public roads was introduced, along with requiring motorcycle helmets for all two-wheeled electric vehicle users.

MMDA had to be pressured to exclude LEVs below 50kg from the ban. PHOTO BY HANS BOSSHARD

Seven days later, the Metro Manila Council approved MMDA Regulation No. 24-002. With its implementing rules and regulations in MMDA Memorandum Circular 2024-04, the “e-bike ban” was put in place on major thoroughfares in Metro Manila. While initially a blanket ban on all LEVs, pushback from the public forced MMDA to include an exception in the IRR for e-bikes weighing 50kg or less, so long as they use bike lanes.

Thanks to DOTr’s memo, those LEV-related restrictions have been struck out temporarily given their inconsistency with EVIDA. Even Cainta’s Ordinance 2024-006 banning e-bikes and e-scooters on major thoroughfares was not spared.

The draft department order's legal review that started it all. DOCUMENT FROM LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

It started with a draft Department Order from DOTr’s Active Transport Program Office (ATPO) that was reviewed by the agency’s legal department. A provision was included that gave pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles, and light electric vehicle users the right to use active transport infrastructure (e.g. bike lanes) if it exists, or the public roadway if it doesn’t.

The legal department noted in its correspondence on May 27 that this is in conflict with both MMDA and Cainta’s e-bike bans, especially on roads that do not have established bike lanes. Another letter was issued on July 12, noting that the Department of Energy and the LTO’s interpretation of EVIDA’s “exclusive for private use” clause as “not to be operated on public [roads]” does not align with the letter and the spirit of the law’s “not for public transportation.” Additionally, RA10054’s mandatory helmet use only pertains to motorcycles, and cannot be extended to LEV and non-motorized vehicles willy-nilly.

DOTr's legal team found out that the e-bike restrictions went against EVIDA. DOCUMENT FROM LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

And so, on September 16, 2024, DOTr instructed LTO to “[withdraw] all issuances inconsistent with the EVIDA” resulting in LTO’s suspension of registration. The memo seems innocuous at first, but it points out some of these restrictions’ shaky footing on both the law and the national policy, and something fundamentally problematic with how agencies fulfill their mandates.

There’s a distinct difference between incentivizing behavior and punitive restrictions. One makes it easier to perform what is deemed desirable, while the other makes it difficult to perform what is deemed abhorrent. While some of these regulations are (supposedly) born out of good intentions, it’s nigh impossible to encourage something good by restricting it.

Most Filipinos believe in moving people rather than cars. GRAPHIC FROM SOCIAL WEATHER STATIONS

Policies can have a lot of unintended knock-on effects if crafted from a position that discards data, reality, and purpose. LTO’s registration scheme exists partly to control the damage that motor vehicles impart on infrastructure and society. MMDA’s e-bike ban cites safety as a factor, with 907 LEV-related crashes recorded in 2023.

MMDA's 2023 accident reporting database puts the figure the agency has been touting into context. TABLE FROM MMDA

That figure represents a mere 0.5% of all vehicles involved in crashes in 2023, and LEVs’ weight and speed simply do not carry the same potential for damage as other heavier vehicles do. Most other countries don’t do mandatory registration for bicycles and LEVs either for the simple reason that they actually cost more to implement than society stands to gain from it, especially once you factor in the opportunity cost of having people out of traffic-inducing cars and crowded PUVs and onto more efficient modes of transport.

It’s telling that these regulations lump together LEVs of vastly different capabilities and forms. Almost as if whoever wrote it couldn’t tell the difference between an electric moped meant to replace scooters and a bicycle with pedal-assist—whether out of ignorance or malice.

Some of the blanket e-bike restrictions could not tell these two apart. PHOTOS BY HANS BOSSHARD

So please—I beg of the DOTr, the LTO, the MMDA, the Metro Manila mayors, and the other LGU heads—please do your research before implementing something, especially if your reason for such restrictive policies is akin to “Ah, basta bawal” or “It has been that way ever since.” Urban planning has progressed in the past few decades as we realized the mistakes of designing cities around cars when we should have been designing them around people. It’s these same folks you’re supposed to be serving, not yourself nor a select few. Put yourselves in the shoes of your constituency and see their reality for what it actually is, instead of falling back on our biases that color the world with myths and falsehoods.

NEDA, through the National Transport Policy, believes in people-first mobility over the vehicle-first policies of yesteryear. PHOTO BY HANS BOSSHARD

But, and I cannot believe I’m actually saying this, we salute DOTr for setting things straight and actually promulgating our National Transport Policy’s people-oriented mobility ideal. The ATPO draft department order that took the cat out of the bag seems promising, and is something we will definitely be looking forward to.



Hans Bosshard

Hans is the ultimate commuter: He drives a car and he rides a bicycle. He also likes tinkering with mechanical stuff.



Comments