Motorcyclists are upset that the Jalisco State Congress has approved a hike in the cost of annual registration fee for bikes to the tune of a whopping 400 percent.
The current fee of 260 pesos for a motorbike refrendo will go up to 649 pesos (the same as a motor vehicle), although this won’t be for all bikers, legislators have been quick to point out.
For motorbike owners who have all their paperwork en regla (in order) – meaning they have a current license and proof of insurance – the new fee will be 400 pesos a year.
Nonetheless, many biker groups say the 400-peso annual charge is still too much. Since the announcement was made two weeks ago, various groups of bikers have staged protests outside the Congress building in downtown Guadalajara, noisily sounding their klaxons to make their point. The most recent one was Wednesday, December 5.
Many motorbikes are nowadays priced low enough for young people to afford, Along with new food delivery services – Uber Eats, Didi, etcetera – more and more inexperienced riders are taking to the streets. Legislators said the ease of being able to drive a motorbike nowadays was a major reason for applying the higher annual registration charge, in a bid to improve road safety.