The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) announced during a press conference at its headquarters yesterday that it is launching a new subsidy for owners to replace their old motorcycles with new electric ones, aiming to reduce pollution and promote e-motorcycles.
According to a statement given out during the press conference, the subsidy scheme will run from March 1 to December 31. The statement pointed out that owners who first registered their motorcycle before June 30, 2009, which had never been deregistered, will be eligible for the scheme, adding that they would be given 3,500 patacas as subsidy.
The statement said that once the subsidy is approved, the owners would need to take their old motorcycle to designated areas assigned by the bureau in order to dispose of it and prevent the old one from creating more pollution, and the owner then has to purchase an electric motorcycle.
The statement said that in order to attract more motorcycle owners to participate in the scheme, the bureau will waive the new vehicle’s first registration fee, which ranges between 3,600 and 4,400 patacas, and its temporary licence (試驗號牌), which costs 900 patacas.
During the press conference, DSPA Vice Director Ip Kuong Lam said that there are currently around 25,000 old motorcycles in the city, adding that his bureau expected 10 to 30 percent of the vehicle owners to participate in the scheme, i.e., around 2,550-7,650 vehicles. He noted that his bureau expects to spend 9 to 27 million patacas on the scheme.
He also underlined that if the bureau can successfully recall 30 percent of the old motorcycles, it expects that it could help reduce hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions by 10 and 7 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, DSPA Director Raymond Tam Vai Man pointed out that the government launched a similar scheme for 2-stroke engine vehicles in 2017 and was able to recall 52 percent of that type of motorcycles, adding that he was hoping to recall the remaining ones. He also pointed out that the bureau aims to set stricter emission limits on vehicles this year.
Tam noted that currently there are nine charging cabinets for e-motorcycles, six of which are located in public carparks. He pointed out that besides adding more charging cabinets in public carparks, the bureau will look into installing the charging cabinets in public areas that do not cause trouble to foot and vehicular traffic alike. He also added that his bureau is considering to install charging cabinets at convenience stores to make recharging e-motorcycles more convenient.
The local authorities’ definition of motorcycles comprises all kinds of two-wheeled vehicles, which includes scooters.
The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man addresses yesterday’s press conference at its headquarters. Photo courtesy of TDM
