Future of Motorcycle Scrappage Bill Unclear

EghtesadOnline: The Department of Environment said a bill calling for scrappage of dilapidated motorcycles has been shelved by the government.

News ID: ۷۸۴۵۳۸

26 February 2019

Although the bill was ratified by the Majlis last September, local motorcycle producers in cahoots with the Ministry of Industries sent a letter to the legislature requesting it withdraw the bill.

Implementation of the bill has been postponed at least for a year, Vahid Hosseini, secretary of National Air Pollution Reduction Taskforce affiliated with the DOE said, DOE.ir reported.

The bill required the motorcycle companies to phase out one old two-wheeler for each new gasoline-powered motorbike they sell, according to Financial Tribune.

Abolfazl Hejazi, director of Iran Motorbike Industry Association said, “We urged the government to first create the infrastructure for motorcycle scrappage before implementing the bill.”

Motorcycle companies claim that the required facilities for scrapping dilapidated motorbikes and mechanisms for monitoring the process simply do not exist. This is while there are numerous scrappage yards in Iran.

Failed Efforts

Vahid Hosseini says if the scrappage scheme is killed, over half a million dilapidated motorbikes which were seized by the Traffic Police and waiting to be dispatch to the scrap yard will be back on the streets.

Hosseini said despite the DOE’s efforts the motorbike scrappage bill, which is part of the Clean Air Act, will be consigned to history.

The 35-article Clean Air Act drawn up by the DOE as an integrated approach to help curb air pollution was passed by parliament in July 2017 after gathering dust in the previous Majlis.

The act singles out smog-inducing vehicles, substandard fuel, industrial activities and dust storms as major sources of air pollution that have worsened over the years largely due to the increasing number of gas-guzzlers.

Metropolises like Tehran are full of motorcycles, many of which are substandard and often responsible for the high number of road accidents as well as air and noise pollution.

There are over 11 million registered motorcycles in the country and almost 3.5 million are in the capital (the actual numbers are said to be much higher).

Toxic emissions released from two-wheeler clunkers are five times more than an average city car as they are not equipped with catalyst converters and release toxic fumes directly into the environment.