Additional e-bike charging facilities have been added in almost every other residential complex in Shanghai in the past five years, the city government said yesterday, ahead of the implementation of new local rules on non-motor vehicles.

With a new regulation taking effect tomorrow that bans charging of e-bikes in residential buildings, the government has vowed to push forward the construction of safe e-bike charging choices for residents.

The new regulation states that e-bikes should not be parked or charged in a public space within a building, including the hall on the first floor, aisles and the stairwell as well as in and around emergency passages, safety exits and passages for fire engines.

However, due to lack of parking space and charging docks in some residential complexes, especially older ones, there are still people who park their e-bikes in residential buildings and use private cables to charge their e-bikes.

However, there seems to be little awareness about the hazards of such charging.

E-bike fires, usually caused by electric failures, can be extremely serious if the e-bike is parked indoors.

The main parts of the two-wheeler are mostly inflammable, and the smoke from the fire is poisonous.

Between January last year and this month, 20 people were killed in 546 e-bike fires in Shanghai, accounting for one-third of all fire victims during the period, according to the city’s fire and rescue authorities.

A citywide campaign about unsafe e-bike parking and charging launched last October has had positive results. Only 29 e-bike fires have been reported since then, with no one killed.

This year, the government is funding new e-bike charging facilities for 500 residential complexes in “a race against this public safety hazard.”

Zhang Lixin, vice director of Shanghai Housing Administration Bureau, said: “The construction of fire safety facilities will be synchronized with that of e-bike charging facilities.

“Where there are no parking lots for e-bikes, individual charging piles or cabinets outdoors will be provided for residents.”

As the new e-bike regulation requires parking or property management firms and residents’ self-governing bodies to correct e-bike users who violate the rules, Zhang said that the bureau will require the real estate management firms to take a more active approach in dissuading residents from illegally parking and charging their e-bikes. They should report those who keep ignoring the warnings to law enforcement authorities.