Motorbikes will be banned from city streets in Guangzhou by 2007, with the first restrictions taking effect within three months,

The municipal government told a press conference Wednesday that the bikes would be progressively phased out starting on May 1, when they would be prohibited from some major roads and downtown areas during non-rush hour periods.

"This is only a beginning. The prohibition is expected to extend to every corner of the city by 2007," said Cui Renquan, deputy secretary-general of Guangzhou municipal government.

According to Cui, the May 1 changes will be followed by an all-weather ban on motorbikes on main roads on January 1, 2006.

Then on January 1, 2007, the ban will extend to all urban and suburban areas.

On January 15 this year, the local government held a hearing to listen to different opinions on the prohibition.

It received 190 telephone calls and 21 letters from the public on the issue by February 9.

Most voiced concern about how the many motorcyclists in the city -- some of whom depend on the vehicles for their livelihood -- would be compensated for the changes.

The city of Guangzhou has as many as 313,700 registered motorbikes which are yet to reach the limit of their service life.

In order to cut down on the number of motorbikes in the city, the government in 2002 shortened the service life of motorbikes to eight or 10 years from the previous 13 years.

According to Cui, the local government is encouraging drivers to discard motorbikes before their service life expires or move them out of the city. It promises to pay the owners for losses incurred or give them a cash reward.

Another issue raised by the public was the effect on those who made their living on motorbikes.

In Guangzhou, many of the unemployed choose to be motorbike cab drivers. The ban may leave them without jobs again.

The prohibition will also hurt motorbike sales and maintenance staff.

Cui said the government is discussing measures to solve these problems. He believes these workers must be adequately compensated.

Some people in Guangzhou have taken to motorbikes to circumvent rush-hour traffic congestion.

They worry about whether public transportation will be able to cope with the sharp increase in passengers.

Cui said the three-step policy would give departments enough time to improve and enlarge bus lanes and subway routes. "The buses will operate till midnight," he said.

But others argue the supposedly harmful effects of motorbikes used to justify the ban are not convincing, Cui said. They said cars also cause pollution and traffic accidents.

However, the deputy director-general of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, Liang Xingxia, said nearly half of traffic accidents in Guangzhou are caused by motorbikes. The vehicles are also used in half the robberies in the city.

"The ban must be enforced" to reduce traffic accidents and street robberies, Liang said.

(China Daily February 12, 2004 )