Keeping the dialogue open against total ban of older bikes
Biker Boy
Some owners of older motorcycles have been thrown off balance by the National Environment Agency's (NEA) announcement in April, which said motorbikes registered before July 2003 will be taken off roads by 2028 as they have been deemed more pollutive.
Such motorcycles can emit up to about 10 times more carbon monoxide and 30 times more hydrocarbons than new Euro IV-compliant motorcycles.
But some of the 27,000 motorcycles slated for the ban may have met or even exceeded emission standards for that time.
The New Paper understands that Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Ducati and Triumph are among brands that began producing Euro I motorcycles with stricter tail-pipe emissions in the late 1990s.
Singapore adopted the Euro I emission standards for new motorcycles on July 1, 2003.
Over the years, NEA introduced a few schemes to tackle air pollution.
In NEA's deregistration-for-cash incentive, owners of older motorcycles can get up to $3,500 if they scrap their bikes over the next five years.
While no figures were available, NEA told TNP in an e-mail reply late last month that "the response to the incentive scheme has been encouraging".
TNP understands 40 Harley owners, whose Euro I bikes were registered here between 1999 and 2003, had approached the local dealership to seek help.
At least two continental motorcycle brands are helping owners by providing emission test results for motorcycles affected by the ban.
Despite having Euro I standards, emission factors for older motorcycles can be significantly higher than cars, said NEA, which uses the Copert (Computer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport) methodology.
An NEA spokesman said: "The CO (carbon monoxide) emission factor of a motorcycle belonging to the Euro I standard and having an engine smaller than 150cc could be about 20 times that of a Euro II petrol car. This is due typically to these motorcycles' inability to burn fuel efficiently and lack of emissions control technologies such as catalytic converters."
Why a similar scheme is not enforced on cars can be explained in part by vehicle population figures.
As of May 31, there are 5,169 cars more than 20 years old, or 0.8 per cent of the 613,383 total car population.
Motorbikes of the same age group constitute 6.2 per cent, or 8,583, of the 138,181 total bike population.
A lawyer and a biker, Ms Luo Ling Ling, from RHTLaw Taylor Wessing is the voice for roughly 230 aggrieved bikers who agreed to be legally represented.
On June 8, a small delegation met with NEA officials.
While no easy answers may be apparent for both bikers and the authorities, a fairer solution may be available than an all-out ban based on a cut-off date.
Exemptions can be made on a case-by-case basis where bikers must prove their older machines are well-maintained specimens that meet Euro 1 emission standards.
Emission test reports would without a doubt play an important role, indicating the health status of the motorcycle.
There is little to lose as the size of the group seeking exemption from the ban is expected to be small.
Their saddle time on these older machines would also be significantly less compared to daily-use motorcycles.
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