Imagination to power. This is how numerous young people who daily move through the streets of the Chinese city of Guangzhou have managed to circumvent the limitations that local authorities have established around electric bicycles and scooters. Hundreds of young people from this city of 12.7 million inhabitants have changed their way of circulating through the streets of the third most populous city in China in recent months, replacing e-bikes and scooters with electric wheelchairs.
A multitude of electric wheelchairs appear daily in the urban landscape of Guangzhou as a new means of transportation. Its users, mostly young people without disabilities, have found in this device an alternative to other more conventional means to move without restrictions through the gigantic Chinese city.
A few months ago, the traffic authorities in Guangzhou established new rules for the use of electric bikes and scooters in the city. Among these measures, the reduction of the speed limit and the obligation to dismount from vehicles when crossing pedestrian crossings stand out.
Both one measure and the other force their users to circulate at an average speed lower than what they were used to so as not to put their own safety and that of other people at risk.
In order to continue driving at the same speed as they used to do with their e-bikes and electric scooters, most people -mostly young people- have opted for the use of electric wheelchairs to carry out their daily trips. In this way, they manage to legally circumvent the rules on traffic limitations that weigh on electric bikes and scooters and spend less time on their journeys.
The measure is being seconded by a large number of people, since the sale of electric wheelchairs in Guangzhou province has increased by 60% so far this year, compared to the records obtained in 2022. Among the options available, the chairs with a price of around 3,000 yuan (about 375 euros) have become the most sought after option by users.
In contrast to cars, which often face traffic congestion problems, wheelchairs allow their users to get directly to their destinations without having to look for a parking space. The measure, however, has aroused all kinds of reactions on social networks, both for and against.
In the virtual discussion forums there are people who value the capacity for imagination of young people by opting for a mobility alternative that has not been common until now. But there are also those who disapprove of the behavior of completely healthy people who use wheelchairs instead of using public transport or on foot.
Although the use of electric wheelchairs by healthy people is not illegal, some legal experts in China question the morality of their users. The criticisms do not seem to affect young people, since since they began to talk about it, sales of electric wheelchairs have not decreased.
