Memorandum submitted by the British Motorcyclists
Federation
With the DVLA claiming a 38% VED evasion rate
for motorcycles (extrapolated from a recorded figure of 16%),
the British Motorcyclists Federation believes that the time has
come to admit that the current system for motorcycles is not fit
for purpose. Although we dispute both the methodology and results
of the study, if it does stand to be accurate, this indicates
low public confidence in the system and that the system is unenforceable.
In fact, with only 1.6 million motorcycles on the road, increasing
enforcement activity would probably not be cost-effective.
The current Vehicle Excise Duty system is incoherent
with regards to motorcycles. There are currently four bands, 0-150cc,
151-400cc, 401-600cc and over 600cc. The costs for each are £15,
£32, £47 and £64 respectively. This is a tax on
ownership based on engine capacity (with the 151-400cc category
barely used). The system for cars is classed by carbon dioxide
emission which is a tax on pollution with some hybrid, electric
and very low polluting vehicles exempt from any charge. Recent
figures from the Department for Transport published in the Governments
Motorcycling Strategy: Response to the Transport Select Committee
state that even the worst polluting motorcycle is around 14% better
than the new car average. In fact, a significant proportion of
the motorcycle parc falls far below the 100g/km of carbon dioxide
which is used as the cut off for free VED.
Another factor that should be taken into account
is usage patterns. Motorcycles are often garaged over the winter
months and this means that many owners pay annual VED for three
or four months use. Average mileage for a motorcycle is less than
5,000 per annum compared to 8,000 for private cars and 20,000
for company cars (Office of National Statistics). Many leisure
motorcyclists travel only a few hundred miles per year and therefore
the temptation for them to register the motorcycle as off the
road must be very strong. This lower mileage combined with lower
carbon dioxide output per mile indicates that motorcycles annually
produce significantly less carbon dioxide than a car. The fact
that motorcycles generally weigh a tenth of a car should also
be taken into account, as motorcycles do very little damage to
the road network compared to HGVs and passenger transport vehicles.
In short, the British Motorcyclists Federation
would like to see and end to VED for motorcycles as the system
is incoherent, unenforceable and does not reflect usage.
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