The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday proposed the registration of light electric vehicles, and their drivers to apply for a license.
LTO chief Vigor Mendoza met with 1-Rider party-list Reps. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez and Bonifacio Bosita, along with representatives from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and various transport groups at a public consultation to gather inputs as to how much should the LTO charge a light e-vehicle for registration.
Mendoza cited Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code that requires all motorized vehicles using public highways to be registered with the LTO.
“It is very clear that we are trying to harmonize it with Republic Act 4136. A motorized vehicle operating in public highways should be registered with the LTO,” he said.
Under the law, a public highway is any road that was funded by the government, and that a person driving a motorized vehicle on a public highway must possess a valid driver’s license.
The LTO chief clarified that RA 4136 does not distinguish the speed or power capacity of a motorized vehicle on a public road.
He said a motorized vehicle whether using an internal combustion or electric-powered engine must be registered with the LTO.
Bosita asked the LTO if the fee for a light electric vehicle could be charged half the fee of a regular motorcycle registration.
The Metro Manila Council (MMC) announced earlier that starting this April, electric vehicles such as e-trikes and e-bikes, will be banned from major thoroughfares in the National Capital Region.
The MMC, through the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), approved a resolution prohibiting the use of major thoroughfares for certain types of transportation and other types of conveyances.
Under MMDA rules and regulations, travel by e-vehicles such as e-bikes and e-trikes, as well as tricycles, pedicabs, pushcarts, and kuligligs on national roads, circumferential,
and radial roads in Metro Manila will be disallowed.
The prohibition will be enforced on the following roads in Metro Manila which are under the jurisdiction of the MMDA: Claro M. Recto Avenue; President Quirino Avenue; Araneta Avenue; Epifanio de los Santos Avenue; Katipunan / Carlos P. Garcia; Southeast Metro Manila Expressway; Roxas Boulevard; Taft Avenue; South Luzon Expressway (SLEX); Shaw Boulevard; Ortigas Avenue; Magsaysay Boulevard / Aurora Boulevard; Quezon Avenue / Commonwealth Avenue; Andres Bonifacio Avenue; Rizal Avenue; Road 10: Del Pan / Marcos Highway / McArthur Highway; Elliptical Road; Mindanao Avenue, and Marcos Highway.
MMDA acting chairman Romando Artes said violators will be fined P2,500.
A driver’s license will also be required for those who will drive electric-powered motor vehicles and tricycles. Failure to present a valid driver’s license will be meted with apprehension and impounding of the e-vehicle.
“Due to the proliferation of e-vehicles, the MMC deemed it imperative to regulate and penalize those who will traverse the national roads using such means of transportation,” Artes said.
He said the primary consideration in passing the resolution was concern for the safety, not just of e-vehicle users, but of other motorists, as well.
“We are not totally banning the use of e-vehicles; we just want to regulate it since it has been a common cause of traffic and road crash incidents,” he emphasized.
Last year alone, the MMDA registered 554 road crash incidents involving e-vehicles.
“We won’t wait for these figures to blow up before we regulate it considering the increasing number of users of these kinds of vehicles,” Artes said.
The regulation is set to be implemented in April following an information and awareness campaign.
Meanwhile, each Metro Manila local government unit will craft its respective ordinances for the secondary and other inner roads under their jurisdiction.
San Juan City Mayor and MMC president Francis Zamora said the local chief executives in NCR will ensure that the ordinances to be passed relative to the regulation will be unified to avoid confusion.
Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval has expressed support for the regulation and for its effective implementation.