Electric bikes are quickly becoming one of the main modes of transportation in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province.

The latest statistics show 230,000 electric bikes were registered between January and October this year, over and above the 110,000 registered last year.

The figure is climbing by 12,000 each month, according to statistics from the Hangzhou Non-motorized Vehicles Administrative Office.

"The past 11 months have seen the number of electric bikes registered more than double over the same period last year," said Li Kemin, a senior official of the office.

Since residents were allowed to apply for electric bike licence plates in 1999, the use of the electric bike has seen rapid growth in urban areas. Numbers have jumped from 45,000 in 2001 to 110,000 in 2003, said Li.

Chen Hong, 35, an accountant with a State-owned company in Hangzhou, began to use an electric bike five months ago.

"The electric bike is the most suitable commuting means for me thanks to its relatively fast speed, affordable price and flexibility," said Chen.

To avoid situations like getting stuck in traffic jams or squashing together like sardines on public buses during rush-hours, more and more people choose electric bikes for short or middle-distance travel, Chen said.

An electric bike costs between 1,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan (US$120-240) and its battery's service life is about one year, according to Chen.

As a clean and energy-efficient transportation tool, more and more people may come to rely on the electric bike, said Wu Jian, chairman of the Electric Bike Chamber of Commerce in Hangzhou.

Some car purchasers have discarded their plans and turned to electric bikes due to the rising oil prices and parking problems while for low-income residents the electric bike has supplanted the bicycle, said Wu.

The electric bike can run for 40-50 kilometres after charging the battery for about 10 hours, at speeds of 20 kilometres per hour, Chen said.

Zhejiang Province produced over 1 million electric bikes last year, one-third of the country's total, according to an early survey.

However, electric bikes are becoming dangerous when they compete for road space with bikes and cars.

Statistics show that 26 people were killed by electric bikes in Hangzhou from January to June.

In addition, experts worry about pollution problems caused by discarded batteries.

Source: China Daily