Oct
9

Scooter] Licence Laws in Shanghai + China

Lawrence Sheed // 9 Oct 2009 // 11 Comments

One of the (not so) fun things about China is that almost everything needs to be licenced.
As part of the China bureaucracy plan, all forms of wheeled transport in Shanghai require a licence (yes, even bicycles!).

Riding motorized transport without one is not recommended, as this can lead to fines, deportation, and jail in worst case scenario’s.
This has been documented enough times by those unfortunate enough to knowingly break the law.

Electric Bikes/ Scooters are not exempt from requiring a licence, despite what the nice man at the shop selling you the bike, or others might say.

To be street legal in Shanghai, you need a plate.

1) Only bikes purchased in Shanghai can get a Shanghai plate.
Keep your official receipt (fapiao) when you buy the bike, as it needs to be used to get your licence.

2) As of a law passed in April 2008, Shanghai Electric bikes have to be:

* Under 40kg.
* Not capable of speeds faster than 20km/hr.
Effectively this means only bikes < 36v.
* Listed in the allowed vehicle database for Shanghai.
Legal bikes have a 15 digit unicode (like a car VIN) which is unique. Manufacturers have to apply for a production licence for this, and not all have done so.

A list of licenced manufacturers is available here:
http://www.shbicycle.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=6230

If you own a bike that is older than that date that does not conform to the above, and you had a legal licence at that time, then it can be renewed each year, and its still legal.

3) To licence an electric bike/scooter/moped you need to visit the police station for your district.

You will need to bring:

* – The fapiao for the bike
* – Valid form of ID (Passport for foreigners)
* – The bike
* – Money to pay for the licence (11rmb currently)

—–

FAQ’s:

Can I use a legal plate from another province?
eg Jiangsu…
Possibly No, with some caveats -
It is not legal to ride with an out of town plate unless it is a weekend, or public holiday. You can be fined 200RMB if caught riding outside of these times, although this is unlikely. This is a grey area though, so police attitude to this may vary/change. While having a plate is better than not having a plate, it may not help if you have an accident.

Can I carry a passenger?
According to the law, no.

Is is illegal to drive without a plate?
Yes. Being a foreigner does not exclude you from following the law.

Do I need a driving licence for an electric bike/moped/scooter?
No.

Is there an official list of legal bikes?
There are 2 official sites where you can check if a bike is legal – http://www.shbicycle.com and http:/www.shjtaq.com

A current list of legal bikes with photo’s is here:
http://www.shbicycle.com/Photo/ShowClass.asp?ClassID=84

You will need Chinese reading abilities to read either site.

Instructions below for non illiterate:

市民在购买电动自行车时，可以通过上海市自行车行业协会网站上（HTTP://WWW.SHBICYCLE.COM），或上海交通安全信息网（网址： HTTP://WWW.SHJTAQ.COM，点击首页右上方的 “车/牌/证公告”栏目中的“上海电动自行车—上牌备案登记表”）查询该目录。

Are the cool Vespa lookalikes legal?
No.
The Vespa lookalikes / Spicy Motors bikes are not street legal for various reasons – weight, voltage, speed (unless you have a 2008 model licenced prior to 8/2008).
Additionally, they are not listed in the police database of allowed models.

…but XXX / Bike shop / my friend etc says its legal?
In short: They’re lying.

Caveats:
If you are in living a city other than Shanghai this may be ok.
Different cities, different rules.
If the bike is 2nd hand, and has an existing legal Shanghai licence, and it has been renewed each year, then it is also ok (albeit extremely unlikely).
Otherwise, see the short answer.

What about repair / warranty?
By Law, bikes have a “三包” (threefold warranty).

If you have issues within 7 days the seller is legally obligated to give your money back if you so wish.
Within 2 weeks, you are guaranteed a replacement bike.
Within 1 year, if you have more than 2 of the same type of failure, they have to replace, or you can get your money back less depreciation.
Consumables such as lights are not covered by this, nor are collisions..

Parts have the following warranties (by law):
Motor: 2 years
Frame, Fork, Charger, Controller, Battery: 1 year

*For batteries, failure is deemed as holding < 60% of original charge.

More details here:
http://www.shbicycle.com/news/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=43

Note that it is while it is illegal for shops to sell bikes that cannot be licensed, many still do.

Where can I licence my electric [bike/scooter/moped]?

Addresses for each district:

Bao Shan
宝山区凇兴西路长征新村23号 56672872

Chang Ning District:
长宁区
天山路11弄12号
62747031

No 12, Lane 11, Tian Shan Lu

Hong Kou:
上海市丰镇路118号/上海市水电路1656号
上午8：30—11：30；下午13：30—17：00 周五下午不
受理 65161561

Feng Zhen lu / 1656 Shui Dian Lu
Closed Friday morning.

Huang Pu District:
黄浦区
山东南路49号
63289464

49 South Shan Dong rd

Jing An
静安区
昌平路372号
62539361

372 Chang Ping road (off Shaanxi road)

Lu Wan District:
思南路、香山路交界拐角处－－卢湾区非机动车管理处
卢湾区思南路46号 63275000
46 Si Nan lu / Xiang Shan lu

Min Hang District:
上海市沪闵路4888号（莘庄镇靠近颛桥）
上午8：00—11：00；下午13：00—16：30
6489 1010-3015

4888 Hu Min lu

Nan Hui District:
南汇非机动车管理所：

上海市南汇川南奉公路6116号
上午8：30—11：30；下午13：00—17：00
电话58021896

Nan Shi District (Southern parts of City?):
南市区中山南一路161弄5号 63138859

Pu Dong District:
浦东非机动车管理所：
上海市浦东新区杨高中路1500号上午：9：00—11：30；下午13：30—16：30 周五下午不受理电话28946594
or
浦东新区浦东南路3640号 58394097

1500 Yang Gao Middle Road
or
3640 Pudong South Road

Putuo District:
普陀区
芦定路325号 52811677

Xu Hui District:
龙吴路2388号，徐浦大桥下面
2388/2138 Long Wu Lu, underneath Xu Pu bridge

徐汇区龙吴路2138号（徐浦大桥） 64340579

Yang Pu District:
杨浦区
双阳路357号
65433020

Zhabei:
闸北非机所
上海市天目中路707号
上午8：30—11：30；下午13：30—17：00 周五下午不
受理 63172110

Also 闸北区共和新路1985号 56650065

707 Tian Mu Middle Road

October 9, 2009 // China Related, Useful Info // 11 Comments // Tags: electric bike, electric moped, electric scooter, how to, licence, shanghai

11 Comments to “Electric [Bike/Bicycle/Moped/Scooter] Licence Laws in Shanghai + China”

daki86 says:

October 19, 2009 at 12:02 am

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the info. Your input here as well as on shexpat really helps a lot of people with these motorbike issues.

I still have some questions if you have some time (some have been answered already in one way or another). Please keep in mind for all questions that I plan on doing a majority of riding within the inner ring.

1)Do all petrol bikes regardless of cc require a valid E drivers license (i’m assuming yes)

2)What is the maximum legal cc for a bike to be registered in shanghai? (petrol, lpg, etc.)

3)If I drive with a valid out of province plate (i.e jiangsu) with a valid drivers license, what are the possible ramifications? If i get caught, I get fined 200 rmb from what I understand? What about if i have an accident?

4)What price range should <50cc lpgs fall under? 150cc? higher? What about their respective plates?

5)What price range should <50cc petrol fall under? 150cc? higher? What about their respective plates?

6)What is the fastest/biggest type of bike regardless of fuel type that I can 100% legally operate within the inner ring provided I have all the proper documents necessary (plate, license, etc)

7)Under what types of driving conditions will I risk getting jailed/deported? (regarding bike type, license, plates, etc.) I'm not talking about fines here, those are a separate matter entirely.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

Reply
Lawrence Sheed says:

November 29, 2009 at 7:03 pm

1) Yes, but Petrol bikes are mostly illegal, unless you have an old one (and thats only outside the outer ringroad), or you have a plate thats a legal motorbike yellow plate / car plate convertable (worth 30,000rmb+-)

2) LPG – has to be in the list of legal bikes. Same for electric. Petrol new bikes no licences, with the exception of expensive new ones in the 300,000rmb or more range (special licence).

3) Who knows. Will differ on the situation, the cop, etc.

4) LPG’s are being phased out by 2012.

5) ?

6) Ducati or similar Honda, Harley from a dealer assuming its a new expensive one.

7) Driving drunk. Driving illegally during a crackdown, driving without a licence, being unlucky driving illegally and have a nasty cop… no hard fast rules (except the drink driving one).

Reply
Daniel Lundqvist says:

March 26, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the write up.

I am still a bit confused about what the rules are for electric mopeds/scooters. It might be a reading comprehension problem on my side as well.

In the intro you mention mopeds and scooters but further down you mostly talk about requirements for bikes. Are scooters like the ones you find in supermarkets classified here as scooters or bikes? They most likely weigh above 40kg so are they illegal? Can they legally be driven in downtown Shanghai?

And i.e. is http://www.scooteretta.com/v1.html something that is legal and can be properly licensed?

If they are not classified in the same way as the bikes, do you have any information on where to find what is legal regarding electric mopeds/scooters?

Also, AFAIK no electric vehicles requires a drivers license at the moment?

Hope you can spend a minute or two to answer my questions.

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

Reply
- Lawrence Sheed says:
  
  March 26, 2010 at 11:57 pm
  
  Moped / Scooter / Bike = Same thing, different name
  
  Supermarkets generally sell legal ones.
  As I wrote anything legal is listed on the Shanghai Bicycle website. Generally speaking anything crap looking is legal!
  
  Scooteretta is illegal. Cannot be licenced in Shanghai; Can be licenced in Jiangsu etc.
  
  Electric vehicles don’t require a drivers licence still, but laws will soon be in place for that – they’re in the works.
  
  Reply
  - Daniel Lundqvist says:
    
    March 27, 2010 at 12:54 am
    
    I see.
    
    Thanks for taking time to answer.
    
    BRs,
    Daniel
    
    Reply
charbonson says:

March 29, 2010 at 2:58 pm

This is very interesting and a bit confusing.
We can see hundreds of Vespa style scooter in Shanghai… I understand that there are all illegal.
I was about to buy one… What shall I do.. hum.
Thanks anyway to let us know the dark side of the scooter’s saler…

Reply
- Lawrence Sheed says:
  
  March 29, 2010 at 4:43 pm
  
  Just buy one. They’re pseudo illegal – you can get a waidi (outside Shanghai) plate, although technically only allowed to ride with that outside the outer ringroad, or on the inner ringroad on weekends.
  In practice they don’t bother you unless you do something silly.
  
  Keep an eye or an ear out though for when they do inspections or checks – that happens once a year usually, so its best not to risk it during those times.
  
  Reply
Vasikar Nagarajan says:

July 8, 2010 at 12:48 pm

Lawrence,

Thanks a lot for your detailed information.

Please advise, if kids (of age, 5 years) can be taken along with us? I understand you mentioned, only one passenger is allowed. But I can not go for a nearby shopping mall, without my kid.

Second question will be, do we need helmet while driving?

Regards, Vasikar Nagarajan

Reply
- Lawrence Sheed says:
  
  July 8, 2010 at 6:37 pm
  
  Helmets are mandatory, although enforcement is sparse.
  
  While you see thousands of family’s riding on moped’s, foreigners doing the same will be a different matter. For your own safety, don’t put a child on a moped or motorbike until they’re ready.
  
  Reply