Rail passengers and car drivers were today outraged by the unfairness of the transport system, as it was annouced that cycling fares would rise by a paltry 0% in 2012, remaining at £0.00. Rail fares are to rise by 5.9% in January, while petrol prices remain as high as drivers' stress levels.
M. Iserable, a spokesperson for People Who Don't Cycle, told Cycle Lifestyle magazine: "I don't see why cyclists should get such a good deal. Cycling already costs nothing, and now prices have been frozen at nothing.
"When you consider the fact that cyclists also benefit from getting fitter, healthier and happier, the 0% fare rise is a real slap in the face for other transport users. With average commuting distances only 8.5 miles in Britain, it seems that just about everything is geared towards helping cyclists."
No cyclists were available to comment - because they were all too busy pedalling joyfully through the streets for free.
Comments
pay your bloody road tax you
pay your bloody road tax you scrounging pedal pushers or get off our roads
No such thing as road
No such thing as road taxation. There is, however, motor taxation - something most cyclists (as car owners) pay.
Roads are paid for out of
Roads are paid for out of general taxation which *everyone* (who is employed) pays. Motor tax goes in the pot with everthing else but wouldn't even cover maintenance and construction. Considering the 1000's of miles of motorway which are unusable to me on a bicycle and the fact that I currently don't own a car perhaps you should be paying me something Mr Greenink?
the only people that mention
the only people that mention road tax to cyclist are the ignorant unhealthy people, get a bike and get cycling, you'll be fitter happier and save money on fuel, tax and medical bills
maybe this should give people
maybe this should give people who don't cycle a hint at what they are missing out on, instead of moaning about it. I drive once a month and cycle the rest. But if it wasn't for cyclists we wouldn't have the roads we have today. Bicycles were around long before cars. Here's a link http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/15/cyclists-pav...
Nice Article! In response to
Nice Article! In response to the first commenter...
From ipayroadtax.com:
Road tax doesn't exist. It's car tax, a tax on cars and other vehicles, not a tax on roads or a fee to use them. Motorists do not pay directly for the roads. Roads are paid for via general and local taxation. In 1926, Winston Churchill started the process to abolish road tax. It was finally culled in 1937. Car tax is based on amount of CO2 emitted so, if a fee had to be paid, cyclists - who are sometimes branded as 'tax dodgers' - would pay the same as 'tax-dodgers' such as disabled drivers, police cars, the Royal family, and band A motorists, ie £0. Most cyclists are also car-owners, too, so pay VED.
Great article :) But what an
Great article :) But what an idiotic comment. I own a car, and I commute on my bike to save on train fares. Therefore I pay road tax, plus ridiculous amounts of income tax. Perhaps your frustrations should be being taken out on our government rather than cyclists.
Ha Ha i do so love the road
Ha Ha i do so love the road tax argument/insult that is thrown at cyclists. Im a cyclist but also own and use a car and a motorcycle that i pay vehicle tax for. I also pay income tax, council tax and vat. Oh and fuel tax. Perhaps Major Greenink should be made to pay "Grumpy Git Tax". Just think how much revenue could be raised from "Road Rage Tax" and "I Own The Road Tax" or even "Im Too Bone Idle To Walk Or Cycle Anywhere So I'll Create A traffic Jam Tax". I could go on but somebody somewhere would probably demand that I pay tax! :-)
If Major Greenink actually
If Major Greenink actually owns our roads, does that mean he's the chap we sue for all the potholes? Expect your firs5t million writs today, Major. You deserve every damn one!
Are you kidding? Cyclists don
Are you kidding? Cyclists don't get off that easy. Have you seen the amount of crap I have bought from wiggle in the past year?
Grreat webpage! I´m also i
Grreat webpage! I´m also i bike lover and I´m writing a blog about it, visit it :)
http://seslabikes.blogspot.com/
Perhaps you followers of this
Perhaps you followers of this blog know more than I do about Major Greenink, but it sounds to me like he's being ironic. michael.
Hat off to you Kevin C, i
Hat off to you Kevin C, i totally agree.
On a side note, i pay taxes, car tax, TWO lots of bloody income tax for being a reservist so i'll bloody well cycle where the hell i want to
Poor journalism; bike fares
Poor journalism; bike fares also rose by 5.9%. Any percentage of nothing is nothing...
Ha ha, thanks for pointing
Ha ha, thanks for pointing that out Tim. At least cyclists will have nothing to fear when Major Greenink calls for a 1 million % rise in cycle fares in 2013.
If cyclists had to pay roda
If cyclists had to pay roda tax I would want some guarentees that the poor road surfaces were maintained properly instead of pothole mooncraters causing us to swerve dangerously or even worse falling off through the lack of maintenance.
Ah the old road fund license
Ah the old road fund license rant, usually thrown at cyclist by overweight, over opinionated, loud mouths with a bad attitude and aggressive driving manor.
Well get off your fat lazy arse or shut the phuck up, either way nobody wants to here your opinion niandathol!
Yup - I blame Wiggle too. :)
Yup - I blame Wiggle too. :)
Brilliant article!
Brilliant article!
But if only it were actually 100% free... The amount of money cyclist friends and I have spent on lights that get stolen, racks, baskets, wheels and seats that get stolen, locks that get damaged when thieves attempt to steal bikes, a whole new bike when thieves are successful. All such a frustratingly pointless waste of our money. (A bit like tax seems when we can not see direct personal positive results of the minus figures on our pay check.)
For lots of bike owners who are not lucky enough to also own a garage (more associated with cars) it often costs money to keep your bike 'safe' in a apartment wide communal bike shed.
Also money is lost when time off work is needed to recover from accidents with reckless and careless drivers.
Still I would always rather cycle, and it is so much cheaper than all alternatives! Even if I do suffer from pedestrians in off road cycle lanes rage...
Also what is the point in a road side cycle lane that cars are allowed to park in. Either it's a cycle lane or a car park, it can't be both it's freakin stupid and dangerous!
Would all the haters be
Would all the haters be happier if they thought of it as a 200% increase in bicycle fares....?
It's fine by me, all the cold
It's fine by me, all the cold and rain and danger of being knocked off and getting severe brain damage is a high enough price to pay I reckon. Not everyone can afford or is unpretentious enough to have the luxury of a lovely warm car :)
I thought VED, vehicle excise
I thought VED, vehicle excise duty, was based on how much CO2 they produced...
Remind me again, how much noxious gas does a cyclist put out??
In Australia, most cyclists
In Australia, most cyclists are registered drivers so we pay the road fees. I would also like to point out that cycling fares have increased by 100%. This is because 100% of zero is still zero ;-)
@Flanders Forever depends on
@Flanders Forever depends on how many beans they've had ;-)
How can you tax cyclists who
How can you tax cyclists who cost the government nothing, are good for the ozone, are good for the health in couple of ways, one is exercise and two is no burning of fumes etc... I think this sort of transportation should be encouraged not discouraged
Excellent post. Now that's my
Excellent post. Now that's my kind of humor. Ya got trailsnet's tweet on this one.