Bicycle Tax

kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by kwackers »

I do a lot of running and thus spend a fair amount of time as a pedestrian, my experiences back up Cunobelin's post.

More and more often these days I find I'm forced off pavements by parked cars, also many of the roads particularly in the countryside have no pavements.
The behaviour of motorists sometimes verges on the staggeringly stupid. Running towards them you can always get a good view of their faces, an awful lot suddenly acquire a large frown and mouth some form of (I assume) vulgarity when they see you. On a few occasions I've had people deliberately narrow the gap, sound the horn and point repeatedly towards the verge! (Obviously the 1 foot or so I'm away from it on their road is just too greedy!).
They drive too close and too fast, so even if the front guy see's you the guy behind has much less reaction time, they drive around blind bends much too fast - last month a woman had the back end of her car step out as she shot round a blind bend too fast, saw me, panicked and slammed on (by which time my feet were well and truly planted in the verge at the side of me).

It's all about ownership. Car drivers feel they own the roads and until something happens to take them back off them nothing will change. Cyclists and pedestrians that come a cropper will do so in the motorists perception because they were stupid and didn't make allowances.
A motorists perception is that all roads are motorways, there should be nothing that stops them driving between sets of lights, they should be able to do so with minimum concentration simply tail hug the car in front and if that results in the odd minor shunt then that's what they pay insurers for.
Cyclists and pedestrians should be removed from the roads and carefully controlled somewhere they can't cause "mayhem" (as I've heard it described by motorists) or obstruction.

What's needed is the political will to 'take back' ownership of the roads from motorists and to make them realise roads are a shared resource for the benefit of all.
What's not needed is more and more segregation, in this instance it only compounds the ownership issue and marginalises those of us who don't use it either through choice or because it doesn't exist.
User avatar
Cunobelin
Posts: 10801
Joined: 6 Feb 2007, 7:22pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by Cunobelin »

As Winston Churchill so plainly put it when he spoke against "Road Tax"....

It will be only a step from this for them to claim in a few years the moral ownership of the roads their contributions have created"
MartinC
Posts: 2127
Joined: 10 May 2007, 6:31pm
Location: Bredon

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by MartinC »

Any talk about cycle tax is utterly irrelevant. It'd cost far more to collect that any revenue you could generate.

The underlying problem is that this country can't afford it's chosen transport option - the private car. It's a very expensive transport strategy that consumes vast amounts of resource. For example the UK is one of the most densely popoulated European countries but has chosen the transport system that demands the most road space. The hostility that non-car road users face is a result of the car driver using this failed system and resenting it's inadequacy.

The current economic climate essentially means that the current subsidies for the motorist aren't viable - even if people refuse to see them. Taxing (and reducing) cycle use has the potential to raise these costs without the potential to raise any significant revenue.

There may be a lot of complaining but the final outcome has to be that that the hidden subsidies will be reduced. It may be that people refuse to recognise the real problem and this happens in a disjointed and chaotic way but there isn't any real alternative.
sibs
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 Oct 2010, 11:28am

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by sibs »

Good grief! Seriously?........ You seriously want to "road tax" bikes????? Well I guess you would have to start taxing zero emission cars before you start taxing bikes!
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by pete75 »

Is this the same Jonty who said that nobody should maintain or repair their bikes themselves but should always pay someone to do it. Now he wants to pay tax to use his bike. A case of more money than sense I guess.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
User avatar
hubgearfreak
Posts: 8212
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 4:14pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by hubgearfreak »

pete75 wrote:A case of more money than sense I guess.


that's true of jonty, even if he's only got tuppence to his name :lol:
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by pete75 »

hubgearfreak wrote:
pete75 wrote:A case of more money than sense I guess.


that's true of jonty, even if he's only got tuppence to his name :lol:


That's a bit harsh - I was thinking more of a thruppeny bit :D
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by thirdcrank »

I'd be slow to suggest something which would cause more work for the board admin but we could probably do with a sub section of the Tea Shop called Saloon Bar where anybody wanting to rake up a bit of controversy for its own sake could get on with it. I could even nominate a couple of moderators.
jamesoneil
Posts: 70
Joined: 28 May 2010, 8:32pm
Location: South Devon.

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by jamesoneil »

Not sure if its mean said yet but here goes anyway. Why, as a council tax payer, and as general taxpaying cyclist do I have to be subjected to those scrounger motorists polluting my air? The ungrateful S O Bs don't even thank me for subsidising their sedentary mode of transport.
Fezes are cool.
niggle
Posts: 3435
Joined: 11 Mar 2009, 10:29pm
Location: Cornwall, near England

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by niggle »

Would unicycles pay half? But then what about tricycles?
Image
How much should this rider pay?
niggle
Posts: 3435
Joined: 11 Mar 2009, 10:29pm
Location: Cornwall, near England

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by niggle »

There is no such thing as a zero emissions car (even electric cars generate CO2 at the moment through fossil fuel burning power stations) but the £0 VED is for cars that produce 100g or less per km., still substantially more than a cyclist and also rather more than some small capacity motorcycles and scooters produce (e.g. the 150mpg Honda Innova 125), but their owners still have to pay £15 a year for some reason :?
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by thirdcrank »

niggle wrote: ...How much should this rider pay?


The way things are going, if he survives to life expectancy and lives up to expectations, he'll pay dearly. :cry: What a mess to inherit. :( And the bike is just about the only thing they won't tax.
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by kwackers »

thirdcrank wrote:
niggle wrote: ...How much should this rider pay?


The way things are going, if he survives to life expectancy and lives up to expectations, he'll pay dearly. :cry: What a mess to inherit. :( And the bike is just about the only thing they won't tax.

I disagree, he should pay £30 a year deferred until he's earning at least 10k a year (adjusted) then repaid at a preferential interest rate.
User avatar
hubgearfreak
Posts: 8212
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 4:14pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by hubgearfreak »

very good kwackers.

of course, if the little chap in question is from a family that can afford eton fees, they can pay his trike tax upfront
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Bicycle Tax

Post by thirdcrank »

Apart from the absence of a hat, he looks uncannily like niggle's avatar.
Post Reply