Bikers take winter rego breaks

Motorcyclists are cancelling annual vehicle licensing over the winter, or paying a higher rate by registering their machines for shorter periods, because they are still feeling rises in the ACC levy portion of rego brought in four years ago. But despite NZTA figures showing attempts to get around the issue, an increase of on-road two-wheelers means ACC’s overall take has climbed to about $6 million since then. Charges for motorbikes rose in 2010 and are now $477 for machines up to 600cc and $591 for those with engines of more than 600cc, resulting in riders storing them for some of the year. There were 35,827 exemptions in August 2009, meaning registrations were on hold, but that number climbed to 57,470 in the same month of 2013. Despite those not paying, NZTA figures show the ACC take increasing from around $15.87m in 2009/10 to about $22m in the past financial year due to more motorcycle sales. The number of registered bikes increased from 105,479 in 2009/10 to 130,439 in 2013/14, with the NZTA’s website stating owners can apply for an exemption of a minimum of three months. Rick Jamieson, manager of Motorcycle Replacements Ltd in Dunedin, says two-thirds of his clients put their rego on hold between July and October. “ACC was told when it put the price up that people would stop registering,” he told the Otago Daily Times. He believes if charges come down, more people will pay up. Riders missed out on good riding weather with last winter being warm, but saved about $150 by putting rego on hold for three months. Some feel “unjustly targeted… because we’re the smallest minority motor vehicle [user group], the easiest to target”, says Jamieson. The NZTA’s figures also show people pay in shorter increments for year-round registration, which costs more, the newspaper reports. An over-600cc motorcycle costs $591 for a year and $331 for six months. In 2009/10, 38,435 owners with over-600cc bikes registered them for less than six months and 27,384 bought rego for the longer periods. In 2013/14, that changed to 71,841 at less than six months and 16,284 for longer. Paula Rebstock, chairwoman of ACC, says it will recommend no cuts to motorcycle levies because they are subsidised by owners of other types of vehicles.