Reflections on urban E-bike governance: lessons from the Guangzhou case

E-bikes have become one of the main modes of travel for urban residents in China; they provide convenient travel services but also present some problems for urban traffic safety and management. In view of the social concerns caused by restrictions of e-bikes in Guangzhou, this study discusses how to improve e-bike development while considering traffic management and travel. This paper analyses the comment data from Weibo and WeChat Mini Software and discusses the opinions of netizens. In addition, Weibo and WeChat comment data were reclassified into three different views. This study revealed that proponents and opponents share the same consensus that e-bike management should be strengthened. Additionally, with respect to understanding traffic restriction policy, conservative views suggest that policy implementation is for safety purposes and should be supported. The radical view is that restricting e-bikes is a one size fits all policy, which ignores the travel demand of e-bike riders, and that the government is strengthening the central position of motor vehicles. Finally, in terms of management, respondents believed that planning and legal construction should be strengthened and e-bikes should be managed with reference to motorized management policies and regulations to protect the rights and interests of all parties.