Authorities on their bikes to ensure residential building safety
An official takes photo as record.
Shanghai's urban management and law enforcement authorities issued the first administrative penalty notice on Saturday morning after revised e-bike regulations took effect.
A man surnamed Bao was charging his electric bicycle with a "flying wire" in downtown Huangpu District was fined.
Makeshift charging can result in devices catching fire, which then spread throughout buildings.
Bao, a construction worker at the Gaochengyuan Residential Complex on Liyuan Road, was found using an unauthorized wire from the security guard room to recharge his e-bike at 7:33am. He was fined 50 yuan (US$6.9).
Inspectors of Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau conducted the review.
Bao signs the administrative penalty notice.
The property management company of the complex was also ordered to enhance scrutiny and management.
"We have 30 charging poles which can basically satisfy the demand at the parking lot and have posted notices at public areas such as elevators to remind residents to abide by regulations," said the property manager of the complex.
"However, we did not notice the act of the man as our security guards were making patrols at that time when he parked the bicycle and he was not a resident of the complex."
In another case, a man was fined for a similar offence at a residential complex on Liyuan Road.
Officials make the inspection in Huangpu District.
Under the revised e-bike rule of the city, bringing electric bicycles and their batteries indoors or carrying them on elevators is strictly forbidden.
Failure to comply will result in fines between 200 yuan and 500 yuan by the city's urban management authorities.
There are also measures to strengthen the management of e-bikes, such as a prohibitions on parking or placing e-bikes in buildings' communal areas such as ground-floor lobbies and shared walkways.
Individuals will face a fine of between 50 and 200 yuan for charging their e-bikes using unauthorized wires and outlets.
The illegal charging.
Using "flying wires," or electrical extensions running from apartments upstairs to electric bicycles on the ground, to recharge batteries is strictly prohibited.
Property managers should report offences to the law enforcement department.
"The two violations posed safety risks," said Qin Lei, an official with the bureau's inspection team. "Issuing administrative penalty is not the purpose, but safeguarding the safety of residents is our pursuit."
Under the rules, people who engage in commercial activities related to the assembly, addition, or modification of e-bikes will be held legally responsible.
Officials in action.
The rules also stipulate that district governments should intensify their investment in the construction of parking facilities and charging infrastructure for e-bikes in residential areas.
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.
As of noon, the officials inspected 391 residential complexes across the city and spotted 166 problems concerning the parking, placement and charging of e-bikes.
Administrative penalties were imposed on 27 cases, involving irregularities in the charging of e-bikes and taking e-bikes into elevators.
Another violation.
