New MA Riders’ Division Roadside Assist Package released

Motorcycling Australia (MA) is pleased to announce the details of its new Roadside Assist Package for Australian Riders’ Division Members.

The new package will cover:

• Breakdown towing service from location of break-down to a storage/repair point or your home – whichever is closest (up to 50kms)
• Both Metro and Country included
• Two call outs per year
• Jump start
• Up to five litres of fuel
• No age limits on the motorcycle
• Members can nominate as many bikes as they own

This service will be available to all existing members at no additional cost and to renewing or new members at a membership cost of $39 per year.

Existing members will need to supply MA’s Riders’ Division with the details of each of the bikes they would like to register for the Service — this can be done by emailing their name, member number, and vehicle details (make, model, year and registration number) to: membership@ma.org.au.

The announcement of the new Package comes following an internal review of the coverage previously offered, with MA’s CEO David White releasing the following statement.

“Recent events have highlighted the need for the Riders’ Division of MA to re-evaluate the Roadside Rescue Package and the ‘Members’ Benefits’ as listed on the Riders’ Division website.

The current staff members have only been incumbent in the Riders’ Division for just over three months and during that time have taken the opportunity to better understand the details of the Roadside Rescue package as well as the Member Benefits listed on the website.

Upon closer examination, what they have found in both cases was that the benefits claimed and the actual benefits did not always coincide — this has prompted an urgent review aimed at ensuring the validity of the products offered and value to members.

At present all the Member Benefits are currently being reviewed to ensure accuracy and genuine benefit to members. Some previous advertising from the Riders’ Division intimated that membership provided mechanical work as part of Roadside Rescue Coverage.

This is not the case and we feel it would be wrong to let this continue without clarification.

The Roadside Rescue Package was actually a transport for cost option for breakdown only — and not a package that included mechanical assistance as was previously inferred.

And as a result we have created this new package which is both comprehensive and cost effective for members. On behalf of MA I would like to sincerely apologise if this has caused any inconvenience or confusion and would like to point out that this has nothing to do with any fault on the part of the transport company whose number was supplied.

We understand that some of our members may have joined the Riders’ Division assuming they were receiving this level of coverage, and now we are aware of what it actually entailed, this new assistance program has been developed. MA, through the Riders Division, is ensuring a comprehensive Roadside Assistance Package continues for both existing and new members.

A letter communicating these changes and outlining additional options was sent directly to Riders’ Division members on Thursday 7 April.

We look forward to working with new and existing members as we prepare for a new era for the Riders’ Division.”

The Riders’ Division can be contacted on the following details:

Rob Smith
Riders’ Division Manager
Motorcycling Australia
Tel: (03) 9684 0501

Michael Stafford
Membership and Training Officer
Motorcycling Australia
Tel: (03) 9684 0509