London – The ULEZ – Ultra Low Emission Zone – comes into effect in central London, the same area as the current Congestion Charge on Monday 8th April 2019. This will see riders and drivers having to pay a daily charge of £12.50 for motorcycles and other vehicles within this ULEZ emission zone.
The basics of this charge is that if a vehicle does not meet a certain level of “friendly” cleaner emissions then they have to pay this charge. Those that meet certain emission levels are exempt from the charge.
We had commented which motorcycles would not have to pay the daily charge in a previous article – Mutual Concession London Emissions – which also looked at the political actions of lobbying carried out by individual riders, groups, blogs and social media.
Those motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles (L category) Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) that will not be charged are those that fall within Euro 3 emission standards (PTWs manufactured from 2007 onwards).
If the PTW is pre-Euro 3 emission standards (PTWs manufactured prior to 2007) they will incur the planned £12.50 charge.
For non-compliance there is a penalty charge: £160 (reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days), the daily charge will run from midnight to midnight, 7 days a week, every day of the year.
Transport for London (TFL) offer an online portal so that riders can check to see if their PTW is exempt from the emission charge.
But all is not quite so simple.
Not So Simple
As we previously reported both the London campaign group – We Ride London – and the motorcycle blog – Biker & Bike – have published ways to find out if your motorcycle is exempt even though it may have been manufactured before the cut off pre-Euro3 emission standards.
Edit – Just to be clear your motorcycles V5 – log book – specifically for older bikes – pre Euro 3 – may not have the vehicle’s Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) value included. This is what you need proof of for applying for exemption to the TfL stated emission level. The only way to get this is either through the process below – applying to manufacturers for the proof of the emission level or getting your motorcycle tested. As highlighted above the “normal” process to check if your motorcycle is exempt is through the TfL online ULEZ portal.
Biker & Bike said that there is a loophole in the ULEZ requirements, which came to light after the Motorcycle Action Group met with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and pushed for the concession.
They stated that, “Motorcycles that emit lower emissions than the Euro 3 standard can avoid the charges if their owners provide Transport for London (TfL) with proof of the bike’s emissions.
The critical measure is the vehicle’s Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) value, which must be equal to, or less than, 0.15 grams per kilometre. If your vehicle’s emissions are lower than this limit, TfL will exempt your vehicle from paying the charge.”
TfL stated, “Enforcement of the ULEZ will be based on the declared emissions of the vehicle rather than the age.”
On the We Ride London Facebook page, an example was given of how one of their members went through the process on an older bike to see if it was Euro-3 compliant.
“ULEZ has accepted the documentation and my bike is now ULEZ exempt! The NOx figure is what TFL care about….”
This process includes applying for the homologation certificate (this is originally issued for your motorcycle that it passed necessary regulations to be sold) for your bike from the manufacturer.
“Once you have the homologation certificate you send that along with a copy of the V5 to TFL (there is a link on their website for applying for exemption) and you should receive notification in a few days.”
Different manufacturers will charge a fee for a Certificate of Conformity others may not, for example we believe BMW charge £120.
Still Not So Simple
The process of contacting manufacturers highlights a flaw in this process, that some manufacturers could not supply a Certificate of Conformity or rather the manufacturer could not state what the original emission level, in order to identify whether a pre Euro 3 PTW would be exempt from the emission charge.
Simply it is up to the rider to prove to TFL that their PTW complies with the requirements for an exemption to the emission charge. Until now there was no other way to offer proof of the bikes emissions thus leaving the owner to pay the daily charge or having to change their motorcycle at their own expense for a Euro 3 or above emission standard PTW.
Simpler Exemption Route – Thanks To A New Test Centre In East London
Recently a new route for finding out if a PTW is exempt is now being offered and is approved by TFL, at a new testing facility at Riverbank Motorcycles in Hackney Wick.
Neil Freeman from Riverbank Motorcycles, says, “Many non‐Euro3 compliant bikes actually emit very low levels of NOx but many manufacturers didn’t start testing this until around 2001, making it tough for owners of older bikes to find out if their vehicle is eligible for ULEZ exemption … until now.
In the majority of cases, motorbikes that aren’t manufactured to Euro3 standards, can actually be set up so that the NOx emissions will comply with TfL standards.
The critical measure for ULEZ exemption is the vehicle’s Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, which must be equal to, or less than, 0.15 grams per kilometre. If an owner can provide Transport for London (TfL) with proof their motorbike complies with these measures, they will be exempt of the charge.
The strict test measures exhaust gas at idle, acceleration and deceleration and an average is taken. Like an M.O.T, it’s a pass / fail test. If a bike passes, results will be uploaded onto the TfL database and it will be classed as exempt. In cases where a bike fails, it might only take a small adjustment or maintenance, for that vehicle to then comply (some bikes though, won’t be able to meet the requirements).“
Testing has commenced with bookings available. Tests will cost £175. For more information (or to book in for a test) please visit: www.nationalemissionstestcentre.com or call Riverbank Motorcycles on: 02089834896
Motorcycle Minds
The main “fight” and discourse of the action against the proposed ULEZ regulations from TfL, with the political drive for the ULEZ introduction from the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, was that PTWs in general terms are congestion busting and are part of the solution of reducing emission levels.
In other words, they are able to travel long distances in a shorter length of time without being stuck in traffic and thus ultimately in real terms, would be less pollutant, not because they emit less noxious gases, simply because they are not on the road for the same length of time as four wheeled vehicles, and older bikes should not have been “punished” by being charged.
However, TFL have not budged, so the testing offered by Riverbank Motorcycles is the quickest and easiest route to find if your motorcycle will be exempt from the ULEZ charges.
Yes, you have to take the risk to have your motorcycle tested, but if it is the testing fee equates to just 14 days of the emission charge and much cheaper that having to sell and buy a ULEZ compliant motorcycle.
Tests that mean older motorbikes don’t have to pay ULEZ pollution charge
Sources – Information – Motorcycle Minds – London – Motorcycle Action Group – MAG meets Mayor Khan: and it’s good news – Biker& Bike – Loophole means older motorbikes may still qualify for ULEZ exemption – We Ride London – Euro 3 Compliance Info – Facebook – TFL – Motorcycles, mopeds and more
Thanks John for your comment and how you have been effected and continue to be effected by the ULEZ charge.
However, here we are just over a year later since the introduction of the charge and the “fight” seems to have gone out/dwindled away from the issue surrounding this.
One might say for all that was going on around the then planned introduction of the charge from 2018, the demonstrations, the lobbying, the indignation, the conspiracy theories, we were called fraudsters when through our own lobbying we put forward the Who Rides London Survey? barred from a London Riders Rights Group, that as Humphrey Bogart as Sam in Casablanca said, that the problems of a few people don’t, “amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
Like many others here I am being asked to pay through the nose to get a Coc or an emissions test done. Harley Davidson want £160.00 for the CoC, and going the emissions test route costs more, at £175.00.
It’s a swindle pure and simple there is no reason that TFL should require every owner of a certain motorcycle make and model should have to produce the same certificate in order to produce an exemption to the ULEZ charge, This claim that there is a loophole by testing each machine is nonsense too put about by the business which calls it’self the National Emissions Test Center to create more business for itself.
For me what it all boils down to is that I will drive my Kawasaki into London if I have to go there as they sent me a CoC at no charge and have been issued with an exemption.
I will carry on to look for another garage that can perform the test at a reasonable rate. Shame on Sadiq Khan and TFL for the swindle and H.D. for charging and outrageous fee for information that would cost them nothing to send by email as Kawasaki does.
Excellent news David and well done MV Augusta for not charging for the information, assuming that was the Certificate of Conformity (CoC.
It would appear that lots are passing through the testing for a fee at http://www.nationalemissionstestcentre.com Riverbank Motorcycles.
2003 Cagiva Navigator now exempt from ULEZ charge. It took 10 days from applying to receiving a letter confirming the exemption and cost absolutely nothing as MV Augusta didn’t want a penny for giving me the info as it wasn’t shown on the V5. Given that it’s a big v-twin (albeit a fuel injected one) I dont see why lots of other bikes wouldn’t be able to get the same exemption.
Thanks David – keep us up to date.
Just FYI I had a cert from MV Augusta for my Cagiva Navigator which showed NOx of less than 0.15. MV were super helpful and I am just waiting to see if TFL accept this or need more info.
Bennetts Social On ULEZ
ULEZ? Help BikeSocial help affected riders
“BikeSocial would like to help make this process easier. If you’ve had a CoC which exempts your bike, send us a pic of it (the certificate…and the bike if you want to) to enquiries@bikesocial.co.uk and we’ll start to compile our own database. At the same time we’ll ask the manufacturers to supply us with lists of pre-Euro 3 bikes that they already know to be compliant so we can start to build a database that we can take to TfL and hopefully they will review their thoughts on block-exemptions.”
“TfL’s system doesn’t currently recognise one certificate for a particular bike and then apply it across the whole system. So while the rider who got a certificate for his 2003-model Honda Pan European gets exemption from the charge, his mate, riding the same make and model, who didn’t get a certificate will get fined if he rides in central London.”
Read more…
ULEZ – Everything you need to know about London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone
“Unlike the Congestion Charging Zone or the wider Low Emissions Zone (LEZ), which exempt powered two wheelers because they can’t be blamed for adding to traffic problems, the ULEZ doesn’t provide a get-out for being on two wheels.
And despite the fact that your bike won’t be spending any time idling in traffic jams, and won’t churn out the same levels of smog as the clattering diesel cars and vans you’re sharing the road with, the daily cost is the same if you don’t meet the limits.
Another clear difference from the Congestion Charge is that the ULEZ operates 24 hours a day, where the Congestion Charge is only active between 7am and 6pm. Nipping into the ULEZ in the evening? Pay up.”
Read more…
Of course motorcycles are being targeted.
The majority of two wheelers in town are new or nearly new. The rest, a diminishing number year on year, how many is that – not that many in the great scheme of things when you see London streets? The cost of this of course falls on those on modest incomes, key workers very often who cannot afford to throw away an now unsaleable bike and buy a new one.
The even bigger issue of of course when the ULEZ zone spreads to the N and South circular.
The £12.50 cost amounts to an effective ban, nobody can afford that hit.