The president of the Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc. has asked the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to temporarily postpone the registration of electric bikes (e-bike) in this time of COVID-19 crisis.
“I-suspend muna ngayon habang mayroon tayong pandemic COVID-19 and para mapakinabangan kaagad ng ating mga laborers at empleyado na walang masakyan papunta sa kanilang mga trabaho,” Dr. Leo Olarte said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV Wednesday.
(We asked them to suspend it while we are having COVID-19 pandemic and for our laborers and employees who don’t have vehicles to go to work benefit from their e-bikes.)
“Mas maganda na mayroon tayong tinatawag na electric bicycle para magagamit ng mga laborers at empleyado natin habang wala pang vaccine,” Olarte added.
(It’s better if we have electric bicycles that our laborer and employees could use until there is no vaccine available.)
Olarte said Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc has one million electric bikes that private companies could purchase.
He added that firms could offer the e-bikes for free to their employees or let them pay for it on an installment basis.
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“Mayroon tayong available na one million e-bike for the new normal, puwede nating ibigay kaagad ‘yan sa mga private companies o employers at ibigay din nila ‘yan sa kanilang mga empleyado,” Olarte said.
(We have one million available e-bikes for the new normal. We can readily give them to private companies or employers, and they could give them to their employees.)
“Hindi ito dole out, ‘yung employer ang makipag-usap sa ating mga partners dito and then ‘yung employers pag nakuha na nila ‘yung e-bike, ibibigay nila sa mga employees nila. Puwede nilang ibigay na libre ‘yan o installment,” he added.
(This does not dole out. The employer would talk to our partners. Then the employers would distribute the e-bike to their employees for free or via installment.)
In 2018, LTO released its policy on e-bike registration and announced it would impound unregistered Light Electric Vehicles (LEV). The agency said they discovered that electric or electronic bikes (e-bikes) are often used by unlicensed drivers, as the local sales of such vehicles are increasing with attractive lower prices.
Meanwhile, bicycle prices in the country continue to increase as many workers are going ‘bike to work’ amid limited public transportation.