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‘Motorcycles are the solution, even with an internal combustion engine’

Many walking and cycling adepts say that cars and motorcycles – especially if they have an internal combustion engine – are dirty and dangerous and should be banned. FEMA’s Dolf Willigers disagrees: “Motorcycles are the solution for many transport and mobility problems in the urban areas. Even with an internal combustion engine.” Dolf explains.

Recently, our colleagues of the European motorcycle industry association, ACEM, published a new position paper on urban mobility. In the paper they mention that motorised two-and three-wheelers were the original urban mobility products in the 1880s. Nowadays, in many big cities in Europe and certainly outside Europe in for example Asia, motorcycles are still a dominant factor in transport.

In the view of many active-mobility adepts, cars, motorcycles, mopeds – especially if they have an internal combustion engine – are dirty, dangerous, claim to much space and should be banned.

This is logical. Motorcycles are small, cheap, are less polluting, use less fuel, and therefor emit less greenhouse gasses than cars. However, in the offices of many city councils, governments, and the European Commission, this does not seem to matter very much. The present mantra is ‘active mobility and public transport’. The active-mobility lobby even has its own annual high day ‘Car free Sunday’, celebrated in many European cities where the supporters dream of a world without cars, trucks and motorcycles. Conveniently forgetting that our present welfare and mobility would never have been possible without these vehicles.

Individual motorised transport of any kind is rapidly becoming a taboo. In the view of many active-mobility adepts, cars, motorcycles, mopeds – especially if they have an internal combustion engine – are dirty, dangerous, claim to much space and should be banned. In a way, they have a point: cars, busses, trucks, and powered two-wheelers sometimes, when they are old or badly maintained, emit too much toxic gasses and CO2. And too many cars in the city does mean that they take up too much space, even when they are not in use which is most of the time. I also wonder sometimes why in my own town cars are still allowed to drive and park in the main shopping street. I understand that you must have cars and motorcycles everywhere. But…

Powered two-wheelers and other small vehicles have the future in urban mobility and must be part of the urban mobility plans.

The solution to bad air quality, global climate change and lack of space in the urban areas is not to ban all individual motorized vehicles from the cities. There is and there will always be a need for individual motorized transport in urban areas. With cycling, walking and public transport you cannot fulfil all needs for mobility of people and goods. Yes, cars, vans, and trucks (and busses) are big and often take up too much space, so that problem needs a solution. That solution is smaller and cleaner vehicles. These vehicles already exist, for over 140 years now. Motorcycles, mopeds, three-wheeled vehicles are the solution for many transport and mobility problems in the urban areas. Even with an internal combustion engine.

Thanks to technical developments and lower limits, new internal combustion engines are very fuel efficient and clean nowadays, they contribute to reducing global warming and bad air quality. With electric engines they are even cleaner (at least when one looks at the tailpipe emissions) and are a perfect solution for bad air quality and use of space in the urban areas. The only things they need are a suitable, convenient, and secure charging infrastructure and policy makers who recognise that the mantra ‘active mobility and public transport’ sounds very nice but does not offer a complete answer to the challenges in urban mobility and liveability. Powered two-wheelers and other small vehicles have the future in urban mobility and must be part of the urban mobility plans.

Written by Dolf Willigers

Top photograph courtesy of Yamaha

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