Shenzhen is a typical immigrant city, with strong population mobility, and due to the depreciation of non-motor vehicles, the phenomenon of "people leaving and staying" often occurs in some communities. These waste bicycles and electric bicycles have been unused for a long time, and eventually become dusty "zombie cars", which not only occupy public resources, but also affect the community environment, and may bring new safety hazards. How to effectively control these "zombie non-motorized vehicles"?
Whether to clean up the "zombie non-motorized vehicles" is a dilemma
A few days ago, the reporter saw in a flower bed in the north of Building 6 of Luohu Xinghu Garden that several bicycles and electric bicycles were parked here. Judging by the rust and dust on the cars, these cars have not been used for a long time. Due to the lack of movement for a long time, the grass near the flower bed slowly "crawled" onto the tires. "It's been a long time, and it's an eyesore. Even if the electric bike suddenly catches fire one day. Ms. Cheng, a resident of the community, said that she hoped that the property could be managed.
In Yuanling New Village, Futian District, the reporter saw that the electric vehicle charging place set up by the property management office had become a pile of debris, and a lot of dusty bicycles and electric vehicles were also parked. The reporter learned from the residents that it was originally an electric vehicle charging station, but it was abandoned for unknown reasons, and there are still advertising signs such as "non-charging vehicles do not occupy" and "risk point notification card", but a large number of non-motor vehicles are parked.
In the face of these "zombie non-motorized vehicles", the community and property staff also complained to reporters. It turned out that they did not have the right to enforce the law, and it was very difficult to clean up, so they could only post notices to inform residents to take the initiative to clean up. The community and the property are also in trouble: the non-motorized vehicles in the community are personal property, and if the property owner comes to the door after the cleanup, the community and the property may face disputes or lawsuits. However, if it is not cleaned up and occupies the fire escape and affects the fire rescue, the property may face fire penalties.
Since "zombie non-motorized vehicles" are parked in residential areas, the Road Traffic Safety Law and other relevant laws do not apply, and the traffic police, urban management and other departments have no law enforcement authority. The various difficulties in governance have made "zombie non-motorized vehicles" become the "psoriasis" of the community.
Owners and property owners participate in a new way of governance
In Shenzhen, some communities are exploring the management method of "zombie non-motorized vehicles".
Longgang Jixing Garden has about 2,000 residents, close to Fengweikeng Old Village, which has more than 10,000 permanent residents, to the east, and Longgang Avenue to the west, with bus stations and subway stations. If the community is closed and enclosed, it is simple and trouble-free to manage, but the transportation of more than 10,000 people has become a problem. At one time, there were also a large number of "zombie non-motorized vehicles" in this open community. However, with the joint participation of the owners and the property, this 30-year-old old community with complex terrain has successfully managed the "zombie non-motorized vehicles".
In Jixing Garden, the property management office has specially divided the parking area for non-motorized vehicles such as tricycles and two-wheelers. Under the 6th and 7th buildings in the community, a huge reminder reads, "It is strictly forbidden to park non-6 and 7 certified vehicles, the time (17:00 in the evening - 9:00 in the morning)". In addition, there are also warm reminders in the centralized parking places of electric bicycles in many places in the community: "Electric vehicles and bicycles without Jixing Garden license plates are prohibited from staying here, and violators will be locked or removed." "It turns out that after the owners of the community buy back the non-motor vehicles, they must first register with the property service center and receive a number plate to distinguish them from foreign vehicles. Even if there are "zombie motor vehicles", the scope of searching for the owner of the car is greatly reduced.
Pang Jinwei, property manager of Jixing Garden, said: "If we find that the owner is parked indiscriminately, we will warn for the first time, lock it and move it to a special parking area for the second time, and after removing the car, we will send a notice to the owner and tenant to pick up the car." It is reported that these measures have been discussed by the industry committee since the end of last year, and in March this year, the "Jixing Garden Electric Vehicle, Bicycle, Tricycle Parking Management Plan" was formed and officially implemented. "In the face of the old and difficult problems of 'zombie cars' in the community, the owners should give full play to the role of autonomy and participate in the governance together with the property. Pang Jinwei said.
Grassroots governance expects more refined laws and policies
The reporter combed and found that there are currently no regulations on the compulsory scrapping of non-motor vehicles in the mainland, and there is no specific legal definition of "zombie car" and "zombie non-motor vehicle". Due to the relatively low price of non-motor vehicles, it is common for vehicles to be "lost if you want to" after depreciation. And the gap in the rules and regulations has also made the "zombie non-motorized vehicles" "frozen" there. In response to the large number of "zombie non-motorized vehicles" piled up, some communities in some cities in China have carried out measures such as exchanging waste non-motorized vehicles for life gift packages, fixed-point claims, and setting up buffer periods to clean up. The exploration from the grassroots level has provided useful experience for cleaning up "zombie non-motorized vehicles", but long-term regulatory and policy support is still needed.
At the end of 2022, six departments of Shenzhen, including fire protection, housing and construction, emergency management, market supervision, public security traffic police, and banking and insurance regulators, jointly issued the "Notice on the Implementation of the "Ten Strict Prohibitions" on the Safety Supervision of Electric Bicycles", based on solving outstanding problems in the quality of electric bicycle products, circulation and sales, traffic order, parking and charging, dismantling and recycling, etc. However, there is still a lack of detailed supporting rules for the recycling and scrapping of non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles and electric bicycles.
In the interview, the reporter learned that the community, property management and other staff hope that multiple departments will work together to formulate and improve more refined laws and policies, so that the identification and disposal procedures and processes of "zombie non-motor vehicles" will be more clear, and the grassroots governance will be reasonable.
(Author: Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reporter Qi Jincheng text/photo)