Europe's manufacturers and trade associations are looking closely at measures introduced in several major European cities in the past 24 months that seek to apply quite draconian age limits on motorcycles permitted to ride there of as little as 5 years old.
The latest is Paris, where the city government passed a wide-ranging series of regulations on February 9th aimed at reducing the number of vehicles on the Paris roads with what it considers to be outdated emissions compliance and standards.
In the case of motorcycles, Paris has legislated to prevent motorcycles of older than 5 years using the roads of a city where 150,000 motorcycles are registered, and where, in common with other major urban centres, encouraging increased PTW use has been credited with reducing pollution, congestion and parking issues in various studies conducted in the last 10 years.
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| French riders rights association FFMC coordinated a protest on February 8th against the Paris city plans - between 2,000 and 4,000 riders are estimated to have taken part depending on whose figures you trust. |
With manufacturers heading towards EURO-4 compliance for model year 2016 motorcycles and tighter still compliance standards thereafter, the implementation of a 5 year cut off is being widely regarded as arbitrary and inappropriate.
ACEM, the Brussels-based industry trade association, told IDN today that it is "looking at this issue closely" and has attended a meeting with French officials in Paris to discuss their proposals.
ACEM says that it believes that these initiatives "should be made in a sensitive manner, address only very old vehicles - which have higher emissions - and be accompanied by measures to encourage fleet renewal.
"This could contribute more significantly to improving air quality as well as sound emissions. Moreover, restrictions must remain proportionate and should not be imposed out of peak hours".
In markets such as Spain, where motorcycles have been included in government incentives to scrap/renew older vehicles, such initiatives had a positive impact on PTW take-up. With the European parliament now insisting that the European commission undertakes research to prove that further motorcycle restrictions deliver economically efficient and technically viable contributions to emissions reduction, the move by Paris and other cities goes entirely against the current trend.
