Motorcycles which do not meet the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) emissions standards can now be donated to Ukraine instead of being scrapped. The scheme, being run by charity British Ukrainian Aid, has been set up with the agreement of London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL).

The ULEZ scrappage scheme currently pays London-resident owners of non-compliant motorcycles and scooters £1000 if the bike is scrapped. If their application for the scrappage scheme is successful, owners can now apply to British Ukrainian Aid to donate their bike to Ukraine – they will still receive their scrappage allowance from  Transport for London. “To confirm, all vehicles which successfully apply to the scrappage scheme, including motorbikes, are included,” said TfL spokesperson Sophie Lawrenson.

Ukraine is short of vehicles, particularly near the frontline where cars and vans are used to transport casualties to hospitals. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, is a supporter of the London scheme.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, was delighted to hear that non-compliant motorcycles could potentially be made use of Ukraine rather than sent to the scrapyard. “Terrific, it gives a new lease of life to bikes that would otherwise be broken for spares, I think. That said, non-compliant bikes, owners should check out the exemption scheme, it might very well be that ‘non-compliant’ bikes are in fact compliant, possibly without modification. ‘Non-compliance’ is frequently only in terms of dates on pieces of paper, not actual emissions.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Marc Lamy – Unsplash