Restriction on motorcycle amount

Nanning released the news on January 6 that it will stop motorcycle registration in three days and cancel all motorcycle licenses and those for the disabled in two months.

Why is the ban so urgent? Nanning Mayor Li Guoqiang explained that it has been strictly confidential in case the citizens rush to purchase and register. However, life has proven the fear. After news release of this all motorcycle shops sold their motorcycles days in and out, demand exceeding supply; Motorcycle registration offices were added from one to three and had to work on night shift but all were packed full.

Severe problems caused by motorcycles

According to statistics, motorcycles in Nanning were up to 500 thousand by the end of 2001 and increasing at the rate of over 150 on a daily average. Experts predict on a basis of such a figure, Nanning's motorcycles are going likely to hit 700 thousand in the coming two or three years. The mayor thus sounded the alarm: "That is a disastrous figure!"

In fact, such a blindly developed large motorcade of motorcycles has caused a lot of problems to Nanning: the channels of crossroads, which have brought smooth traffic in Shanghai, Dalian and Guilin, can in no way be given a full play in Nanning. The experts from Shanghai Transportation Designing Institute pointed out the large group of motorcycles form "chief culprit" to severe traffic problems on investigation and that adding any advanced projects for solving traffic problems wouldn't ease its traffic jam if the number of motorcycles were not cut.

Figures show 509 traffic accidents were linked to motorcycles in Nanning in 2001, or 45.4 percent of the latter's traffic accidents put on record. Those accidents had caused 177 deaths, or 54.3 percent of the annual dead in traffic accidents.

Robberies as robbing and stealing motorcycles and skipped-off robbing happened repeatedly. From 2000 to 2001, there were 5103 cases involving motorcycle robbery to a loss of 42.97 million yuan, robbing by speeding by, 2298, to a loss of 12.2 million yuan. Additionally, the problem of breaking traffic rules by motorcycle drivers is very serious.

Motorcycles in a too large number also produce waste gas and noise pollution. According to data analysis, waste gas produced by 7 motorcycles is equal to that of 1 bus, while the transportation capacity of a motorcycle is only 8.8 percent of that of a bus.

(People?s Daily January 11, 2002)