TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In light of a sharp increase of fatalities arising from accidents involving electric bicycles, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has been pushing for amendments to related laws to require the vehicles to be equipped with license plates.

According to the ministry’s road safety statistics for January this year, fatalities in accidents involving e-bikes jumped to seven in January this year from two in January last year, CNA reported.

The MOTC said on Monday (March 28) that it had been lobbying the country’s legislature to make the amendment bill one of its main legislative priorities, and it’s expected that e-bikes will be regulated in the second half of this year at the earliest.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) said amendments to laws related to e-bikes, including the requirement for the vehicle to be equipped with a license plate, the requirement for the vehicle to carry compulsory vehicle liability insurance, and the requirement for the rider to be aged 14 and up, will be passed by the legislature very soon.

Department of Railways and Highways official Lee Chao-hsien (李昭賢) said that it’s very possible that the amendment bill will be passed during the current legislative session, and if that’s the case, it’s very likely e-bikes will be regulated from the second half of this year, per CNA.