A Scandanavian man was stopped by police yesterday afternoon while riding an electric scooter downtown near Bogyoke Road and 12th Street.
The man was then taken to the Lanmadaw Township police station and held for several hours. No charges were filed, but his e-bike was confiscated, and he was asked to retrieve it with a car so that no one would see him driving it. He was also instructed to sign the following note written by a police officer:
It was explained to [the Scandanavian man] that according to YCDC rules, he is not permitted to ride a motorcycle in Yangon. I can confirm that after explaining the rules to him, his motorcycle was returned to him. He has signed below to confirm that he will abide by the YCDC regulations and not ride his motorcycle again within the city of Yangon.
Non-official use of fuel-powered motorbikes in Yangon was banned in the early 2000s, after members of the Scorpion gang pulled up on motorbikes to Vice Senior General Maung Aye in a main street and mimed gunfire at him with their hands. Maung Aye was the second highest-ranking member of the military junta at the time.
Vice Senior General Maung Aye survived the incident, but Yangon’s livability was permanently diminished.
E-bikes have never been explicitly included in the motorbike ban, the text of which remains elusive. Last year, a police official told The Global New Light of Myanmar that electric bicycles were permitted in most parts of Yangon as long as they had pedals.
When trying to explain that the vehicle in question (which does not have pedals) was not a fuel-powered motorcycle, the police were incredulous, saying the bike was “very big”, according to the detainee.
“They said they thought it was a motorbike because I was wearing a helmet and the bike looks like a motorbike. I am a bit surprised they couldn’t identify that it was an e-bike on the spot, especially considering the fact that one of the police officers drove it back to the station,” the owner of the bike said.
Another police officer clarified later that he believes both e-bikes and motorbikes are forbidden in downtown Yangon.
Owners of electric bicycles in Yangon have reported that they have generally gotten away with riding their vehicles in all parts of the city, even the six main townships that make up downtown, where even bicycles (and presumably e-bikes) are officially banned.
“I’m a bit annoyed that they can’t give clear advice on where it is and where it is not legal to drive. There are, to my knowledge, no signs when you enter downtown telling you that you can’t drive your bike there,” the man said.
“If trishaws, which are bigger and slower, can drive, I don’t see why I can’t, as long as these bikes are legal elsewhere in Yangon.”
Yangon police seem to be cracking down on both motorcycles and electric bicycles city-wide, especially downtown.
“Motorcycles are not allowed downtown, where the roads are very narrow,” said a police officer from the Lanmadaw Township station.
Last month, there was talk in the Yangon Region parliament of new decrees banning the use of electric bicycles altogether, although no such law has been passed yet.
After picking up his problematic e-bike from the police station, the owner said: “I want to ride again, but I’m worried that I can’t drive my current bike any longer. I may swap it for a pedal-style one, as those seem to be outside of the grey area.”
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