Transport for London (TfL) has recently imposed a new £12.50 charge for non-compliant vehicles to enter a newly created Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) but there may be a way for older motorcycles to escape the charge.
The new ULEZ charge came into force on April 8, 2019 and applies to any motorcycle or scooter that isn’t registered as being compliant with Euro3 emissions.
However, there might be a way around the charge to allow you to keep your older motorcycle or scooter on the roads and NOT pay the daily fee which has been introduced to try and curb harmful emissions.
Where do you start?
Before you do anything else, check your vehicle details at the website below to see if they are already logged on the TfL database…
This is a central database and it’s possible another owner has already done the hard work and you can use their information to exclude your own motorcycle or scooter. All you need to do is submit your registration number and the website will check for you.
What’s the next step?
Don’t give up if you find your vehicle isn’t listed already on the TfL database, it just means you might have to do a little bit of work to get it sorted. Firstly, you need to check your V5c registration document.
The initial part of the procedure of getting your bike exempted from the charges is by checking the Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions logged on your V5c registration document for your bike which may have the official manufacturer test figures confirmed.
Check the section of the V5c where ‘Exhaust Emissions’ may have been noted. These figures aren’t for your specific vehicle but they are the official homologated data recorded by the manufacturer when the bike was built. Look for the NOx figure on the V5c; it must be ‘equal to, or less than, 0.15grams per kilometre’.
Not all bikes have this noted on the V5c as this wasn’t a legal requirement at the time.
This should be enough to prove this is applicable to your bike, you can then send in a copy of the data to TfL and your bike should then be excluded from the ULEZ charge.
Earlier in the process building up to the introduction of ULEZ on April 8, Transport for London sent out an official letter to those asking. It said:
“In order to investigate compliance status of your vehicle we advise you to provide us with vehicle registration document (V5c) that contains the Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) value and Particulate Matter (PM) value (if diesel), we can confirm the compliance status of your vehicle. Please check that the Nox and if applicable the PM value is recorded on the V5c, usually these are detailed in sections V.3 and V.5 respectively.
“If these values are not recorded on the V5c you will need to provide a copy of the vehicle’s Conformity Certificate which you can obtain from the vehicle manufacturer. Alternatively, you may wish to contact the vehicle manufacturer’s homologation department. They will need to provide you with a letter signed by a named individual from the homologation department which contains the following information (a letter from customer services or a dealer will not be accepted):
- Vehicle registration mark (VRM)
- Vehicle identification number (VIN)
- Euro standard the vehicle was manufactured to – Fuel Type
- Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) value.”
There’s nothing on my V5c about exhaust emissions so what do I do next?
Even after this setback, there’s no need to give up all hope…yet!
The next stage involves contacting the manufacturer of your bike directly through the UK headquarters as you will need to request a Vehicle Conformity Certificate or provide you with the relevant information over the phone or by email.
If you successfully manage to get hold of a certificate of conformity where the value of the NOx is lower than 0.15g/km you need to fill in an online form and upload that proof at https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone
New rolling road test centre offers hope to older bikes and owners
Transport for London (TfL) have come under quite a bit of sustained pressure from riders in the capital and they have been forced to accept there are motorcycles and scooters out there that may not be compliant with Euro3 regualtions but they still create way under the mandated 0.15g/kms of NOx.
As a result, TfL have officially backed Riverbank Motorcycles in London as an emissions testing centre and they can check your motorcycle or scooter to see if it qualifies for an exemption after running it on a rolling road and checking the exhaust emission.
The test costs £175 and sees three separate rolling road runs with a pass or fail being issued depending on the NOx figure. Even if your vehicle fails the first test, servicing and tweaks to the engine to make it run more cleanly can help it pass.
If the event of a pass, the details are sent straight to TfL and the database is updated with an exemption now valid for your specific motorcycle or scooter. More details can be found here… www.nationalemissionstestcentre.com
The NOx figure is higher than 0.15g/km, does that mean it’s hopeless?
This is definitely not good news and it almost certainly means your vehicle will have to pay the daily £12.50 charge and won’t be allowed any exemption. At this stage it might work out cheaper to buy a newer motorcycle or scooter than can meet Euro3 regulations.
Is there any leeway for older bikes?
Yes. Any motorcycle or scooter registered as more than 40 years old is exempt but your vehicle does still need to be officially registered with the DVLA as historically exempt to qualify. Check the DVLA website for more details here… https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles/apply-for-vehicle-tax-exemption
