Icelandic motorcycling association BLS is planning a protest against a proposal to introduce road pricing. Kristrún Tryggvadóttir, BLS’s delegate to FEMA and member of the FEMA Board, explains what is happening:

BLS – a member of FEMA – held a meeting with its members to discuss the government’s plans to introduce road pricing, paying per kilometre. This will financially disadvantage motorcyclists.

The members were in agreement: enough is enough. We motorcyclists pay taxes, but our views and needs are not taken into account when designing or maintaining roads. This needs to change and the latest tax is just another clear indication of the problem.

Here in Iceland, as in many other countries, alternative fuels are becoming more popular – even being forced upon us – meaning that the taxes that are usually collected through sales of combustible fuels are decreasing.

Of course it is fair to find a way to tax vehicles powered by alternative fuels in some way so that they can pay their fair share for road maintenance and development; the problem with this new bill is that it is not fair with regards to motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers, as the percentage we are now expected to pay is to high when compared to other vehicles. The so-called ‘price by weight’.

In the new bill, fuel tax will be removed and instead a tax per kilometre will be implemented on all insured vehicles. It’s basically like this: a regular family car weighing more than 3.5 tons will pay 6.7 ISK (Icelandic króna). A powered two-wheeler will pay 4 ISK, and that rate will be raised to 6.7 if the powered two-wheeler weighs more than 400 kilograms. Therefore it would usually take 8.75 powered two-wheelers just to equal the weight of one family vehicle (and that is without the family) making the tax unfair and unjust toward riders. BLS’s proposal is considerably less costly for motorcycle owners: 1.7 ISK per kilometre for motorcycles and 0.6 for lighter motorcycles and mopeds.

Also, the roads suck! We have been fighting here for years to have our voices heard regarding road maintenance and development of infrastructure, we have had meetings with the road administration, with members of parliament, police and so on, where everyone admits to the problem but nothing is ever done.

We do not see how it is fair that powered two-wheelers pay a road tax almost equal to that of cars when we do not feel safe on the roads. After each winter there are numerous new holes, cracks and other road surface problems that we face. When roads are maintained or cleaned it is not done in a way that makes them any safer for us, leaving debris on roundabouts and in turns and in no way making roadwork sites safer for motorcycles, for instance by placing proper signs and seeing to it that road surfaces are not slippery after maintenance.

It was the consensus of everyone at last night’s meeting that this tendency by lawmakers and road administrators to not take us into account is discriminatory and unjust as riders not feeling heard and not feeling safe on the roads they pay for in part is a way of limiting our freedom to choose our means of transport.

Written by Kristrún Tryggvadóttir

Top potograph courtesy of BLS

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