More than 3,000 motorcyclists yesterday jammed Macau's main roads in a two-hour slow-ride protest against a traffic law which takes effect today. Sounding their horns, the riders travelled from Iao Hon Park in the northeast of the Macau peninsula to the government headquarters and legislature in the south. The new law toughens the enforcement of fines, with those failing to pay being unable to renew their vehicle licences. A ticket for illegal parking results in a fine of 200 patacas if paid within 15 days, with the fine rising to 300 patacas after 15 days of the ticket being issued. There are more than 80,000 motorbikes in Macau but less than 30,000 parking spaces for them. Illegal parking is inevitable and riders often ignore parking tickets they receive. It is not unusual for them to accumulate dozens of unpaid tickets. 'Rushing the law through, the government pays scant heed to public opinions,' 53-year-old rider Vong Lai-yee said. 'The officials idling in their office buildings do not understand our pain.' Vong Chi-weng said he had nearly 300 unpaid tickets - gathered over the past 10 years. 'I'd simply go broke if all of them had to be paid for,' said Mr Vong, a 50-year-old construction worker. 'What can we do but break the law when there is no parking space?' He said the authorities should make motorcycle parking spaces available every 50 metres. Tens of thousands of Macau commuters rely on motorcycles, as the city's public transport network fails to meet their needs. Buses are often overcrowded and their routes badly planned, with too many detours. The shortage of taxis is not helping. The city of 520,000 with more than 60,000 visitors arriving each day has only 850 taxis. 'I wouldn't be riding a motorcycle if there was a good bus network,' said demonstrator Benjamin Lao. In an attempt to avoid a large turnout for the protest, the government announced last week that parking tickets issued before today would not affect renewal of vehicle licences. It also pledged to raise the number of parking spaces for motorcycles to 45,000 soon. Many riders said they would continue to protest on foot today.