Category: Motorcycle Industry Association

1. Electric motorcycles should be included in a package of subsidy for green vehicles - to be announced later this month

   Posted on 7:51am Saturday 13th Sep 2014

   The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) is calling for the government to recognise the potential of electric motorcycles and ensure they are clearly listed as eligible for the latest round of government subsidy to stimulate the uptake of electric vehicles.

   The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) published a document at the end of April setting out the subsidy available for cars, but was not clear about whether motorcycles would be included.

   The original proposals pledged to commit at least £200 million in the period 2015-2020, aimed primarily at cars stating that: ‘The current £5000 car grant incentive will remain in place…until 50,000 cars have been sold, or until 2017, whichever is the sooner’.

   £30 million has been put aside for ‘other’ vehicles, of which electric motorcycles and scooters could potentially be included.

   Steve Kenward, CEO of the MCIA says this would help stimulate the electric motorcycle market and work towards reducing traffic congestion: “Up to now subsidy has excluded powered two wheelers and centred on four wheel vehicles. We are asking for a level playing field, in order to help develop this sector and to make sure the charging infrastructure is in place to support it.  Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds also offer an additional opportunity to tackle congestion.  Electric cars won’t help cut traffic jams, but research shows that motorcycles will.*  You can buy an electric scooter from around £2000, which can be charged up easily at home and is therefore perfect for commuting. Motorcycles have many fleet applications too.  Police, paramedics, breakdown services and blood runners all use motorcycles when they need to cut through traffic and their riders are testament to the fact that motorcycles can and do play a valuable part in our society.”

   A decision regarding motorcycles will be made within a few weeks.

   Notes:

   *Research from Europe shows that when just 10% of car drivers swap to a motorcycle, scooter or moped congestion is reduced by 40% for all road users.  When 25% swap – congestion is eliminated altogether.

    

   You can read the research from Transport and Mobility Research Leuven here

    

    

   The Motorcycle Industry Association has been representing the motorcycle industry for over 100 years and formed the Alternative Powered Motorcycle Industry Association (eMCI) in 2011.

   The UK industry is valued at around £7billion (GHK study 2010).

   Approximately 65,000 people are directly employed in over 6,000 related businesses (GHK study 2010).

2. MASTER tagged bikes 4 times less likely to be stolen

   Posted on 7:34am Saturday 12th Jul 2014

   Following a meeting of the Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group, which met this week, figures have been released which show a marked reduction in the theft of motorcycles which have been ‘tagged’ under the UK’s first national and official motorcycle anti-theft scheme.

   52,687 new motorcycles and scooters have been protected and registered with the MASTER Security Scheme since January 2013, of which only 403 have been stolen.

   This represents a theft rate of 0.76%, compared to an historic rate of 2.6% and means MASTER scheme tagged motorcycles are nearly 4 times less likely to be stolen.

   Typically around 26,000 motorcycles or scooters were stolen every year, 50% of which are taken within Greater London. Using the current rates of theft, if all bikes were MASTER tagged this would mean c18,000 less motorcycles would be stolen each year.*

   Of the 403 bikes which have been stolen, the current recovery rate (at the time of this week’s meeting) stands at 37%. In addition, the police are aware of the locations of a number of the remainder of the unrecovered bikes, which will be the subject of police action in the coming weeks.

   Steve Kenward, CEO of the MCI said “11 major manufactures have been marking their bikes for over 12 months now, so we are in a position to begin evaluating the effectiveness of the MASTER Security Scheme. It will take another two years to see the full effects, as motorcycle theft is currently mostly centred on bikes of three years or less, but we are highly encouraged by the results we have seen so far.”

   *Figure is the difference between 0.76% and 2.6% of the active parc, i.e. the theft rate of MASTER tagged bikes and the historic rate of theft.)

   For more information – see the full story here

3. Commuter City Challenges prove motorcycles and scooters get you to work more quickly than other modes of transport

   Posted on 12:09pm Thursday 19th Jun 2014

   Ride to Work Day (RTWD) is an international event which sees thousands of riders around the world come together to show just how enjoyable their daily commute is. As part of RTWD and Ride to Work Week, the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI) organised Commuter City Challenges in six cities around the UK, and the motorcycle proved to be 100 per cent successful. The challenge cities were Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds/Bradford, Leicester and Manchester.

   The 2014 TomTom Traffic Index reveals that traffic congestion in cities across the UK has significantly worsened in 2013, with average journeys taking 27 per cent longer than they would in free-flowing traffic. The time lost as a result of traffic congestion is estimated to cost the UK economy £2 billion a year, and that figure is set to rise as the Government has forecast four million more drivers on UK roads by 2030.

   In light of the worsening situation and to mark Ride to Work Day, the MCI instigated commuting experiments to see how well powered two wheelers (PTW) hold up against other modes of transport. City commuter challenges comprising of a motorcyclist, a car driver, a public transport user, and also a cyclist in the cases of Leeds and Brighton, were carried out in six of the top congested cities in the UK as identified in the recent TomTom report. The routes were chosen to represent genuine commuter routes carried out during peak morning rush hour.

   In three of the six challenges, the car took the longest time to reach the destination, frequently being held up in traffic or finding it difficult to park. Public transport was the other mode which arrived last. The cyclists, when included, came in second in both cases, but the riders were both sportsmen who each cover over 10,000 miles a year on their bikes. The real success was the motorcycle which came in first across all six challenges and has the benefit of giving you the freedom to stick to your own timetable. Who wouldn't want to be able to sleep in that little bit longer in the morning?

   MCI CEO Steve Kenward said, "We held the City Challenges in order to give us proof of what motorcyclists already know, commuting by motorcycle is the quickest, easiest, and most enjoyable way to travel to work, particularly in highly congested cities. We hope that these statistics will encourage more people to contemplate their commute and give serious consideration to travelling by motorcycle or scooter.

   Anyone considering travelling by powered two wheeler (PTW) can get more information from the MCI's Get On scheme. Join in with Ride to Work Day/Week.

    Videos of the six City Challenges can be found on the MCI's YouTube channel

4. New accredited qualifications for the motorcycle training industry

   Posted on 8:38am Wednesday 5th Mar 2014

   A specialist education centre has been set up at the MCI’s headquarters in Coventry, which has been awarded official accredited status, in order to provide a programme of new qualifications for motorcycle instructors and motorcycle training businesses.

   The Motorcycle Industry Accreditation Centre was officially approved by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) last year - to run new vocational courses for both instructors and Approved Training Bodies (ATBs), which will begin in April.

   Help for customers

   Customers currently have no means of distinguishing good from bad when choosing an instructor or ATB. This is particularly important when choosing where to do Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), as the quality of this initial training experience is far more likely to win converts to motorcycling when delivered well. Also, those who invest time and money into building a superior business have no concrete way to stand out from less scrupulous operators.

   Professionalising the industry

   Introducing qualifications for instructors and ATBs will allow the motorcycle training industry to professionalise ahead of any compulsory requirements to do so and before the car training industry has managed to do the same. 

   These vocational qualifications will be equivalent to level 3 (approximately A level standard) and though they are voluntary, they will demonstrate to customers that the instructor or ATB involved will far exceed any minimum standards.

   Vocational Qualifications are work based awards that are achieved through assessment and training, which require the candidates to prove that they have the ability to carry out their job to a required standard.

   Welcomed by the wider industry

   MCI members also agree that more structure within the training industry will allow them to choose training partners more easily and to develop fleet programmes with corporate clients who need greater quality assurances than are currently available.

   The individual instructor training qualification will start in January 2015, but the first ATB course will begin in a few weeks’ time in April of this year. 20 ATBs will be given the chance to be the first in the UK to take a qualification specifically tailored to them. This can be taken by owners, directors, managers or whoever has responsibility for the day to day running, as it concentrates on the business of running an ATB. Those seeking instructor accreditation next year will need to be part of an ATB which has gained MCIAC ATB accreditation.

   Steve Kenward, CEO of the Motorcycle Industry Association explained: “Driver and motorcycle training has been left behind other training sectors in introducing a framework of recognised qualifications. This move should help to change that. Motorcycles should be a natural choice as a means of personal transport and for fleet operators too, but both need clearer signposts when choosing quality instructors. We are particularly proud to be able to launch this ahead of anything similar in the car driver training industry and before any compulsory requirements to do so by government bodies.”

   Karen Cole, Director of Safety and Training at the MCI, who has been instrumental in leading the bid to get accredited status for the MCI added: “Many working in the motorcycle training industry agree that the industry has suffered from a lack of recognition and professional status for too long and that needs to change. Accreditation fits into a long term strategy to deliver a ‘route to safer motorcycling’ model, which is a shared aim for MCI members and the Motorcycle Industry Association Trainers Association (MCITA). We are sure that if we can improve rider safety and raise the professionalism and credibility of the industry overall, we can expect much more support from government, manufacturers and other key stakeholders.”

   Cost

   The ATB course will normally be £1575, although there is an introductory offer for an initial 20 ATBs, which can be paid for in instalments. The intro offer is only for MCITA members who take a place on either the April or June course. ATBs interested in finding out more should contact the Course Administrator Lynne Whitehouse on 02476 408036 [email protected]

   Instructor training will take place from January 2015 and anyone wishing to take part will need to be affiliated to an MCIAC accredited ATB.

   www.mcia.co.uk

5. The Motorcycle Industry

   Posted on 9:48am Tuesday 14th Jan 2014

   · Contributes £7.2 billion a year to the UK economy

   · Directly employs 65,500 people in more than 6,350 businesses (that’s more than UK call centres or taxi drivers)

   · Can help ease congestion and ‘green’ targets for personal transport

   · Meets social need through making personal transport affordable
   
   www.mcia.co.uk