petrol run or blue plate run ?

[VinX]

Hi all !
This is my first post here and first of all congratulations for the idea to create such website !

As most of you might know by now, it's been almost impossible to get tank refilled in gas station since few days.
I'm in downtown (fuxing rd) and it's impossible...

I'm driving an old leike 150cc scooter i trully love it and what was my saddness when i realised i couldnt get gas... some dude at the station almost kick my ass out when i asked explenation... here what i got after personnal investigation.

The governement want to banned all kind of petrol / LPG 2 wheels by the end of the year (logically if they keep refusing to serve those people in gas station the probem might be solved in a week...). Reason of it : 2 wheels are noisy and are responsible of pollution... (wtf ??? did you ever saw the cloud of fog after a bus start or switch gears ??).

Anyway, here's the problem, after more than 4 years driving scooter in shanghai i simply cant live without it.

Solution ?

i'm quite sure very soon some black market for petrol will be create and as i read it's in action already... but hey... are you whilling to find your "dealer every 3,4 days to refill ? it might become a very complex operation...

One of the guy from the station told me that if i get a blue plate "same as car" i could drive and get petrol whitout troubles... and i got this version aroud me too...

My question is now super simple... where to get those plates ? i'm whiling to pay a serious amount if it means i can drive my scooter and get petrol.

thanks a lot for any help !

i'll continue to investigate this case today again and i hope to get news for all of you cause i guess i'm not the only one in trouble.

Cheers !

[Nuhaus]

The governement want to banned all kind of petrol / LPG 2 wheels by the end of the year (logically if they keep refusing to serve those people in gas station the probem might be solved in a week...). Reason of it : 2 wheels are noisy and are responsible of pollution... (wtf ??? did you ever saw the cloud of fog after a bus start or switch gears ??).

/start angry rant
BS The reason they don't want 2 wheeled traffic is because of the congestion they cause to 4 wheeled traffic. If they had half a brain they'd be decreasing the number of car plates and encouraging people to buy bike plates, like they do in any other country where they are concerned with pollution.
/end angry rant

There are many threads here with information on getting plates for a bike in Shanghai. The bad news is that it will cost you around 40,000 RMB for an A plate and you will have to buy a new scooter. I'm filling up my bike on runs out to Songjiang these days so have not had too much trouble, but the other day I had to play dumb laowai in order to get fuel at a station just inside the second ring road. Personally, I am thinking of moving out to Suzhou next fall!

[VinX]

Dear Nuhaus,

completely agree with you... i mean... when you see others big asian cities, EVERYONE got scooters, moto or whatever...and local government encourage it... but not here in sweet shanghai where government see more profit to sell cars and car's plate whatever the pollution it causes... money money money...

Anyway... i'm wondering how all locals users will react cause nowhere it's been said that the government might offer a bonus to any petrol bike returned or whatsoever...

Now... for the plate deal... gosh... 40,000 wasnt exactly what i had in mind to be honnest...
I'll continue my investigation cause i just cant accept to let my scooter die in my garage like that !!!

[felix]

About moving to suzhou; sure you can get petrol there, but you can't get plates. Whereas shanghai charges an exorbitant amount for plates at least you can get some. Suzhou went for total ban in 2008 and now all the scooters and bikes are gone. Everyone has moved to ebike or cars. (since they introduced the ban i had the chance to watch suzhou traffic change into a gridlock comparable to shanghai, good work assholes!) In the inner part of the city i would avoid ever being there on a bike, though you can get away with it at night if you know where the police are. In SIP in the east of the city you can still get away with it, but avoid the police and don't stop for them. You'll get fined at the very least, but might have your bike taken away. Seriously lots of people i know in suzhou who drive scooters with no plates got stopped at some point and lost their bike. My bike has legal nanjing plates so i only would get fined. And it happened too.

I still think suzhou is better than shanghai for owning a bike just because it's easier to get out of there for weekend trips. But for riding around inside the city it's no better. At least in shanghai if you have money you have options.

So for those of us without the 44k for a shanghai plate? I know it's sad, but ebikes seem to be a pretty good compromise until they get banned too. If you're willing to blow like 5 or 6000 kuai on one with a 2kW motor and 8 big cells, you'll get similar performance to a 110cc scooter with about 80km range. Sure charging batteries is a real pain in the ass, but frankly so is having to constantly avoid police and driving out to songjiang for petrol...

More about the ebike idea over here.

[VinX]

Hi ! 3rd post of the day... i got news...

I got the info from a friend who got a blue plate for scooter few weeks ago so i beleive the news is pretty reliable.
First of all the blue plate for 2 wheels cost 30.000 RMB if you buy it on your name and 17.000 RMB if you buy it through your local company as a "company vehicle". The second option means you own a local company or you know someone who own a company and whiling to put his name on your license with all the responsabilities it engaged...

I will get more news soon about how to get the plate, where etc...

In the meantime... i guess i'll hit the road with my longboard...
Walking ? NEVER !!!!

[felix]

Interesting. Aren't the blue plates limited to 50cc though? Milton mentioned that in this thread.

Blue is cheaper but only for engine displacement of less than 50cc (this restriction was imposed in 1996 as I read from another forum)

Even if it is 17k i still think i'd pass. Way too much money and i believe they are non transferable, meaning it's money lost, as opposed to the yellow plates which can be sold on.

[VinX]

Hi felix ! thanks for the additional info...
I'm afraid you are right... it seems those blue "gold" plate are for under 50cc... need to confimed... but if it's true as i suspect, then yes...even 17.000 is a f... robbery. i cant believe the whole situation...
It seems it's the most expensive piece of iron in the world said my friend...
Any ideas about all those people who own a scooter ? what we gonna do with it ? resell the pieces ?

By the way, you were talking about really powerful electric one, any idea where to go to check it ?
I hate to say that cause i really think eletric ones are unconvenient and unfortunatly big ugly plastic piece... but i'd like to know the alternative... and hope there're others models available and not only the huge harler davidson/ poor vespa copy one and the small playmobile girlie one...

Thanks a lot !

[Nuhaus]

Any ideas about all those people who own a scooter ? what we gonna do with it ? resell the pieces ?

Don't panic yet. Keep looking around for a way to get fuel for now. I see many scooters and motorcycles each day driving around Shanghai without legal plates. They must be getting fuel from somewhere :).

[VinX]

Thanks for your message...
just back from Xujiahui area and yes... i saw the same amount of scooter still driving... petrol might come from somewhere yes...
But i didnt found yet a station in luwan or xuhui who accept to sell petrol... and since my tank is almost empty i cant really take the risk to go on a petrol run without real clue...
Even i'll find petrol... i might get trouble with police if they manage to stop me... cause if we keep it logical by now most of scooter on the street now are "illegal" or something... ?

Tanks for your concern and support guys !

ps: if anyone knows a place no too far from xujiahiu to get petrol please advise... thanks !

[jape]

What do people with chainsaws, mowers, generators etc. do? Contractors and so on? And do you know anyone with a car you could siphon from, for emergencies of course? Workmates, fellow students might assist? Can you 'hire' a truck with a few petrol powered tools in the back and fill some cans? Etc. etc.