Traffic police launched a new move to clamp down on cyclists using illegal three-wheeled bicycles yesterday.
Police started increasing checks at 7am at 68 downtown locations. They detained 2,713 tricycles and fined 1,296 vehicle owners by 3pm.
Police said most of the three-wheelers used by migrant workers and small store owners have no valid plates.
"Some riders use the vehicles to transport items at major bus and railway stations or in the city's outlying areas, offering cheaper rates," said officer Sun Xincheng with the Zhabei District traffic police team. "They are also used by some vendors to carry goods from wholesale markets to save money."
Zhabei police detained about 50 three-wheelers in the morning near Shanghai Bus Station on Zhongshan Road N., a major inter-provincial bus terminal.
Sun Guofu, a spokesman for traffic police, said authorities stopped issuing plates for three-wheelers long ago, thus only a few now have a valid plate.
Sun Guofu said authorities plan to get the three-wheel bikes off streets gradually. The vehicles are considered inefficient.
"A three-wheeler rides slow and is inefficiently large for its speed," Sun said. "It takes up three times more space than a bike and almost half that of a sedan."
The spokesman also said many riders lack traffic rule knowledge, often overload vehicles or make other violations. The generally poor condition of their three-wheelers risk the lives of both themselves and others, Sun added.
At a wholesale market yesterday, police caught a vendor piling iron materials that extended four meters from his three-wheeler. That increases the chances of an accident, police said.
The vehicles will be wiped out of the streets by related departments if owners fail to provide a valid license.
Meanwhile, police also said they were concerned by the poor condition of minibuses. Many operate without licenses or make illegal modifications.
During a recent citywide check, police found 70 percent of 48,145 minibuses were either unsafe or the owner had an invalid license.