40 private car drivers apprehended in QC for using bicycle lanes — Eleazar

At least 40 drivers of private vehicles have been apprehended for using bicycle lanes as parking spaces in Quezon City, Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said Wednesday.

Eleazar said these individuals were issued with citation tickets by operatives from the Philippine National Police - Highway Patrol Group.

"This should serve as a lesson and a warning for the motorists to respect the spaces intended for bicycle riders," Eleazar said in a statement.

"This operation will continue until we are able to institute discipline among the motorists that bicycle lanes are for bicycle riders and they have no business using them [for] parking or encroach [on] these lanes to overtake or to avoid traffic jams,” he added.

Eleazar has warned private car drivers not to "invade" lanes designated for bicycles after receiving complaints that bicycle lanes have been used by some as parking spaces while others are using them to overtake other cars and avoid heavy traffic.

Bicycles are now seen as an essential mode of transportation as there is only a limited number of mass transport vehicles for commuters under the general community quarantine.

Eleazar tasked the PNP - HPG and local police chiefs to include in their regular patrols the checking of bicycle lanes to ensure that they are not being utilized by private cars. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News