Safety first in charging of electric bikes
Officials inspect e-bike parking area at a residential complex in Huangpu District on Friday night.
Shanghai's urban management authorities launched an intensive inspection and crackdown against irregularities in the parking and charging of electric bicycles on Friday night to eliminate potential fire hazards.
The citywide campaign will run through the end of this year with old communities and residential buildings with poor property management particularly targeted, according to the Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau.
On Friday night, inspections were conducted at nine residential complexes involving 50 buildings in the city, with 16 problems identified.
At three residential complexes of Xiaodongmen Subdistrict in Huangpu District, officials checked whether electric bicycles were parked improperly for charging.
Shanghai's regulations, effective since May 2021, ban charging electric bikes in building common areas such as public corridors, emergency evacuation pathways and crowded indoor spaces due to safety concerns.
A rectification notice issued.
Moreover, using "flying wires," or electrical extensions running from apartments upstairs to electric bicycles on the ground, to recharge batteries is strictly prohibited.
At Shenjiang Xinyuan residential complex, electric bicycles were found occupying public common areas for charging, and rectification solutions have been ordered.
The Jintan residential complex has set up an exclusive area outdoors with 25 charging facilities.
"However, the complex has about 100 electric bicycles and the current poles could not satisfy the demand," said Sha Jichun, secretary of the complex.
"The good news is that a large number of these bikes belong to express delivery workers and they use replacement of storage battery as alternative. We also urge residents to use the limited charging facilities in turn to handle the demand."
A charging spot in Huangpu District.
The Zhongfu residential complex has installed smoke alarming facilities on charging poles which can detect real-time fire hazards of electric bicycles.
On February 23 in a residential complex of Nanjing, neighboring Jiangsu Province, fire suspected to have been caused by the lithium-ion battery of an electric bicycle resulted in 15 fatalities and 44 injuries. The blaze started on the ground floor of a 34-story building, where electric bicycles were parked.
By the end of 2022, there were an estimated 350 million electric bikes in China, equating to one for every four people. Shanghai led the nation with more than 10.5 million registered electric bicycles.
The bureau said it will step up coordination with fire, police and property management authorities and beef up safety promotion campaigns to raise safety and law awareness among the public.
Safety issues are a concern.
