Recent Driving Standards Agency figures have shown that the demand for Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) is on the rise due to costs of using modes of transport and this is also backed up by motorcycle manufacturers such as Yamaha and Honda who are now designing bikes and moped specifically for younger riders. Small-engine motorcycles or mopeds made up seven of the top 10 bikes sold by Yamaha in 2013 and this has lead to many manufacturers designing their smaller engine bikes to have a lot more street cred but to stil stick within the cc limits.
Mopeds are not only cheap to run but as you only need a one day CBT and a provisional licence to ride then the costs are a fraction of what it would be to drive a car. One 16 year old, Jacob Parkinson, had this to say “Insurance for my moped is £180, but one of my friends with a 20-year-old car – his insurance is over £1,000.”
The Bike Insurer, an insurance comparison website has seen quotes from under-30s more than double since 2009, with 931,131 quotes given in 2013 alone.
All these facts and figures bolster the view that more and more young people are choosing to ride moped, starting at 16 years of age and many choosng to stick with the smaller engine mopeds rather than upgrade to larger motorbikes or cars, which would entail a lot more training and a lot more costs.
