GRA not registering, licensing electric bikes

With no current laws to govern its usage, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Friday clarified that they are not registering or licensing electric bikes (E-bikes).

In a statement, the GRA said that should these requirements be implemented in the future, they will inform the public.

“…The Guyana Revenue Authority has not commenced the registration of electric bikes, electric cycles and electric golf carts presently seen traversing the roads in Guyana,” the statement noted.

However, GRA noted that it is pursuing discussions with its sister agencies including the Guyana Police Force (GPF) regarding the requirements for importation, registration, licensing and related liability insurance for electric bikes.

Meanwhile, Traffic Chief, Superintendent Dennis Stephen told the News Room on Saturday that presently, there is no rule in place to govern the use of the electric bikes since the laws do not include them in the definition of motorcycles.

There is an alarming increase in the use of electric bikes in Guyana. Persons of all ages, including minors, utilize them, often without a safety helmet or any knowledge of how to operate them.

To regularise its use, the authorities will have to amend the current legislation.

Superintendent Stephen said the traffic department has embarked on a campaign to educate persons on the dangers of these bikes on the roadways.

Persons are also being informed that they will soon have to get a valid driver’s license to operate the E-bikes.

In the past, there were a number of accidents involving electric bikes and in some instances lives were even lost.

The recent accident occurred on Saturday when 17-year-old Bibi Sophia Mohammed of Non-Pariel Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara died while her sister was injured after the electric bike they were riding collided with a truck. The accident occurred at Coldingen, ECD.

For last year, there were seven such fatalities.