These days I try not to rise to the bait every…single…time this stupid argument comes up yet again: Cyclists should pay, says MP
.
I'd just shake my head and say nothing, if it weren't for this pathetic little piece of appeasement:
Bicycle NSW said it supported initiatives that seek to legitimise cycling. "A form of bike registration or levy may help achieve this," said its chief executive, Alex Unwin.
Or to take the full quote from the Bicycle NSW web site:
A form of bike registration or levy may help legitimise cycling, however Bicycle NSW does not at this time have a policy position in this area. We have a clear purpose, which is focused on getting more people riding bikes more often, because life is better on a bike.
WTF? Are they supposed to be the "peak community organisation" for cyclist in New South Wales or are they just taking members funds so that they can spout cheesy marketing slogans and agree with the NRMA's Alan Evans? What an incredibly limp response. Why the hell don't they have a policy position in this area? And what a stark contrast to the excellent response from the Cycling Promotion Fund:
"There is no country around the world which has registration for bicycles, and the revenue raised would be quite low," said the organisation's program director, Rosemarie Speidel.
Bicycle Victoria may well be headed along the Bicycle NSW path to irrelevance, but at least they have a policy position on this issue—suggestion to Bicycle NSW: copy-and-paste. Oh yeah, and stop feeding this pointless so-called "debate" with stupid statements like that.
Nice work.
But wait, there's more:
CPF Media Release - Registration for Bicycles: Bad Public Policy
Umm, isn't that the press release that Bicycle NSW should have made?
Someone's got organised:
The National Roads and Cyclists Association
Huzzah! huzzah!
Heh, oddly enough my Mum tried this one out on me recently. It worked for a moment until I pointed out that car rego etc. in no way covers the costs of all the roads infrastructure car and truck drivers use, it's the taxpayers who fund the majority of it.
Bikes save taxpayers a fortune not only in road maintenance costs but also health costs.
Great post.
I pay a car rego. If i am on my bike, I am not driving my car. thus, my car rego for that trip applies to the bike.
Crowlie's example is important: tiresome though it is to repeat oneself over and over and over, we have to be well prepared to engage and defend the position of cyclists on the road. A bit hard to do when some tool hurtles past yelling "Get off the road!" but for the times when someone takes it up with you 'around the water cooler', I think the info sheets from CPF and BV are excellent references.
While I agree that eccles' argument is logical, it doesn't work because you can't say the same thing about owning two cars (or a car and motorbike): if you're driving one, you've still got to register the other. There are a raft of other stronger arguments in the material linked above.
As for the NRCA, well it was only a matter of time…
Ah, yeah, I didn't mean it as the be all and end all of arguments, but just as an immediate "shut up, that's why" kinda response to "but you don't pay any rego".
No offence intended towards eccles, it's just a tough line of argument to defend.
I hate to say it but it is true. The peak organisation for cyclists in the state most hostile to cyclists, has a stacked board that is so timid that it would surprise me if they got re-elected at this years AGM (even with their "advocacy" officer touting for proxies at the Netti Sale!). Having read a transcript of the CEO's interview on Channel 9 I am annoyed with his preformance given that we are about to become a branch office of BV. It looks like Bicycle NSW is getting out of advocacy and giving it to BUGs through the BUGS Council.
Comments
Alan Odd to the rescue, um er, makes a suitable response, from CM-Sydney list:
The NRCA has sent the following presser to the SMH.
NATIONAL ROADS AND CYCLISTS ASSOCIATION
PRESS RELEASE February 8, 2008
Following the call for a levy on bicycles by Pat Farmer, the President of the National Roads and Cyclists Association today endorsed the call for the cyclists to contribute to the cost of maintaining the road network. "Let's face it. The situation as it is untenable. Motorists are constantly calling me a tax cheat. I hear 'Get off the road! Pay your taxes!' all too often on my daily commute to my consulting contract in the CBD. Tax cheat? I pay income, company and good and services taxes but it's obviously not enough and no wonder motorists are peeved", said Mr Odds.
However, the NRCA does not see how Mr Farmer's proposed levy would work. "There is already a levy on bicycles. It's called the GST", said Mr Odds. He went on to say there is additional "reverse levy" applied to the motor vehicle industry. "The motor vehicle industry is constantly receiving tax breaks and direct hand outs from governments both state and federal. Take the recent situation with Mitsubishi in Adelaide. They make a poor business decision in choosing to make a car that nobody wants and the SA government and the feds are left picking up the pieces and paying 0,000,000 between them for the privilege."
The NRCA would like to see a registration scheme for bicycles ridden on the roads and offers two alternative pricing schemes.
Scheme 1 would see a registration fee for bicycles that is equivalent to that currently paid by cars. A typical family car such as a 2000 model Mitsubishi wagon, pays 1 registration fee and 17 motor vehicle tax for a combined 68. Mr Odds went on to say, "Based on the car's mass of 1,1467kg, that equates to 3 cents registration and 15 cents motor vehicle tax. totalling 18 cents a kilogram. That means that for my eight kilogram road bike, I would pay 28 cents registration and would be exempt from the motor vehicle tax because it doesn't have a motor in the usual sense of the word. I think that most cyclists would be happy to chuck in 28 cents a year to maintain our roads."
Scheme 2 would see all roads funding limited to what was raised through registration fees and motor vehicle taxes without any other contribution from consolidated revenue. "If we were to look at that, we would see combined car registration and motor vehicle tax probably get out to about ,000 a year or more, although we need to do a bit more research before we could finalise those estimates." said Mr Odds.
Mr Odds went on to announce a research project to be undertaken by the NRCA. To be called "Transparency and Honesty in Funding Roads", this major work will produce a detailed report detailing the true cost of the cost road network and guidelines for future funding. He expected the report to be released when it is finished.
"Hopefully when our report is released, our recommendations will be acted up by the government and we will have more equitable road funding system", said Mr Odds.
For more information, contact: Alan Odds
President
NRCA
Email: natcycra@gmail.com