A Budget measure to encourage the use of motorbikes is misleading, according to experts.

Last year, there were just over 18,000 licensed private motorbikes and 257,451 private cars on the road. 

Over the years, the licence fee for fuel-efficient cars has gone down but the licence for motorbikes has increased.

Gordon Micallef, owner of Gordon’s Moto Centre, confirmed his business has experienced growth. Between 2013 and 2014, sales increased by 28 per cent. The main reasons people cited for shifting to motorbikes were traffic and parking problems.

The measure introduced in the last Budget to remove registration taxes for motorbikes up to 250cc was misleading, he said, since it was only related to vintage motorbikes. 

“People come to our shop asking for 250cc bikes thinking their price would be reduced. We have to explain the change applies only to vintage bikes with that capacity,” he said.

The road licence for a 125cc bike is €60.

He also pointed out that in Europe anyone who has had a driver’s licence for five years can drive a 125cc, or at least a 50cc, motorbike without needing a licence.
More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

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