Everything London Motorcyclists Need To Know About ULEZ

Ladies and gentlemen, ULEZ is on its way to cause disruption in all of our wallets. Soon will be the days when paying for maintenance, petrol, tax, and MOT will be history – for many of us, anyway. Of course, this starts off in London – like everything in the UK! The Congestion Charge has been set in place for car users of the capital for over 15 years.

The team here at We Buy Any Bike visit London multiple times a week, so we know all too well about the congestion charge. With it being £1 more, it won’t affect us all that much, but lord mayor Sadiq Kahn and the Transport of London have decided to extend it to bikers – and that’s why you’re reading this!

The Current Charges

On Monday 17th February 2003, national TV declared a war across the nation. Well, it wasn’t quite that, but it may well of been. Initially charging £5 7am – 6pm Monday to Friday, needless to say it’s gone up since then. Over the years the hours have stayed the same, but the charge has been raised up to £11.50 – a cost that was set in place in June 2014. What happens if you don’t pay? You get gifted with a lovely fine of between £65 and £195!

The capital has held off charging all road users on weekends, public holidays, and between Christmas and New Years – also giving 100% exemption to:

• Breakdown/Recovery Vehicles
• Mopeds/Motorcycles/Sidecars/Trikes
• Vehicles with over 9 seats
• Cars who emit 75g/km or less of CO2 & Meet the Euro 5 Emissions Standard

Ultra Low Emissions Zone

In less than a month, they’ll be out to cause havoc again. On Monday 8th April 2019, many motorcyclists will have to pay £12.50 if their vehicle does not negatively affect the London air quality in a somewhat extreme way. We Buy Any Bike are based up in Yorkshire, so we don’t really ‘get’ your pain when it comes to living in London, but we can somewhat understand it. If you live in London, you may think you’re automatically exempt from the charges, but that isn’t actually the case, for some of you. You can check out this page to enter your post code and see what applies to you!

How To Be Exempt

In theory, if your bike was registered after July 2007 and meets the Euro 3 Emissions Standards, you may be exempt from the charges. You can always check your bike here to see where you stand. It is worth checking before you go though, because if you do travel in the zone, you could be charged up to £160. If you manage to get the document within 14 days and pay it off, you’ll only be charged £80.

Some other ways you may be able to be let off these charges is if your vehicle has been awarded a historic vehicle tax status – generally granted to those vehicles that are registered before 1979. Do you own an electric motorcycle? You may be eligible for a grant! Find out here – here you will find a list of motorcycles... if your bike fits the criteria, it will be titled on the page!

How to Pay

There are ranges of different ways you can pay your charges. If you’re tech savvy, you can download the app – simply head on over to the app store and search for TfL! If you don’t already have Auto Pay, you can register here – there is a charge of £10 per vehicle and if you already have Auto Pay, go out for a ride or something – you’re good to go!

You can also pay on the TfL website. If you’d prefer to pay by phone and you’re a UK resident, you can simply call 0343 222 2222. If you call from a landline you will be charged between 2p and 10p per minute. Calls from mobiles cost between 10p and 40p per minute. Just a heads up, We Buy Any Bike are not responsible for any of these charges!

Sell My Bike in London!

London is a thriving city. Despite the ULEZ charges, our drivers love visiting the capital. Our customers over there are just full of character, they always come back to the office with stories to tell. If you’re a biker based in London looking to sell your bike, look no further! Hey, you might have a pre-July 2007 model, maybe you’re looking to upgrade your wheels to comply with a better economic system... wouldn’t we all?!

If you compare prices from bike traders across the nation, We Buy Any Bike will offer the most – we offer instant collection within 24 hours. We’ll put a smile on your face when you don’t want to!

We offer cash in hand for bikes up and down the country, or whichever form of payment suits you. If you’re looking to sell your Harley-Davidson, if you’re looking for someone to buy your Ducati, maybe your Yamaha or your Kawasaki have had their time in your garage and it’s time for them to go – we will buy them all! The list is endless on the bikes we buy; we’d be here all day! To put it in simple terms, you can visit our home page and get your quick FREE quote today!