LTO looking at requiring registration on all e-bikes

In the old days, jeepneys and their drivers were considered the “king of the road” not because they were great, but because they stopped wherever they pleased to drop off and pick up passengers. Heck, they also have the habit of turning without using signal lights, counterflowing, and doing much other stuff that disregards even the very basic of traffic rules.

In other words, many of these drivers do not follow traffic rules.

These days, we encounter a new king of the road and they drive electric bikes (e-bikes). Many of these drivers have not undergone proper seminars with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and thus do not possess a valid driver’s license.

_{LTO chief, Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II}

According to LTO chief, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, the agency may soon require registration on all e-bikes regardless of capability or type. LTO Administrative Order 2021-039 outlines the classification, registration, and operation of all electric motor vehicles.

“If [the e-bike] can only run up to 25 km/h, it’s not required to be registered with the LTO. Although we’d like to deviate from that thinking and we’re coming up with a proposal, that even if the e-bike cannot reach 25 km/h, if it is being used on national highways like EDSA and the operator [for example] is a minor and is not a valid driver’s license holder, we have a problem,” said Mendoza.

The LTO chief added that regardless of the capability or maximum speed of the e-bike, as long as it is used or ridden on a public road, it must be registered with the LTO and its operator as a valid driver’s license holder.

“So, we're coming up with a proposal regardless of the speed of the vehicle [e-bike] that once it is used on public roads – and it is supported by law – it must be registered with the LTO,” added Mendoza.

Do you think it is just fair to require e-bikers vehicle registration? Let us know in the comments section.