Should Bicyclists Pay?

[hobbyguy]

We see stories about rising car insurance costs, there are claims costs associated with bicycles in traffic.

We see cities/towns building bicycle paths that cost fortunes, but benefit only a small slice of the population, while often causing trouble for others, from small businesses through to commuters stuck with fewer lanes on bridges.

Car drivers pay:

- license fees
- driver's license fees
- gasoline taxes
- big chunks of sales tax on used sales
- parking fees
- many pay Translink fees
- property taxes (or rents indirectly) increased by the costs of bicycle paths, bicycle lanes, bicycle racks etc.
- tolls

Is it time for the "free rider" bicyclists to pay their share? I think so!

[TreeGuy]

Off roads vehicles need to be registered too.

Why not get cyclists to register their bikes and pay for insurance.

Share the road, the costs and responsibilities.

[LordEd]

A cyclist is not likely to have the same liability burden to need insurance.

If a cyclist crashes into a car, odds are the car passengers will not be killed or seriously injures. The reverse is not true.

Crashing into a car could cause some damage to the car, but I've heard of that covered under house insurance liability.

[Gone_Fishin]

I'm with you all the way on this, Hobby. As a kid growing up in Kelowna, we all had to buy an annual license for our bikes. Why not now?

[JLives]

God people are greedy. Not everything has to be about money! It should be cheap. It's good for the environment and our health. People should be encouraged to ride bikes.

[LTD]

yup and they should also be encouraged to carry some form of liability insurance as well, I'm all for bikes being licensed if I have to license my quad my car and my dogs you should license your bike as well

[spooker]

I have to attribute this thread to the fact that people don't pay attention ... the "free rider" myth has been debunked so many times I could click on Google blindfolded and hit another article that outlines how roads are paid for ...

Also, I have a license ... it's been valid for almost 40 years ... every time it comes up for renewal I go online and take the practice tests to make sure I can still pass (yes, I've thought about getting the road test done again but I'm a bit too frugal/cheap to go there yet) ...

I've confirmed with my insurance company that I'm covered while riding my bike, if for some reason I am actually responsible for something that happens on the road (so far I've only had to pay out of pocket for the one time I dented a car after having a clip malfunction, dang metal fenders are really thin) ...

Neither my licensing fees nor my insurance premiums do anything to provide roadways ... licensing helps fund enforcement and it's own administration ... a government ouroboros ... and what ICBC kicks in isn't even 1% of what goes to provincial roads ...

40% of the federal gas tax comes back to the province, of that a small portion goes to roadways and sometimes bike infrastructure ... the provincial gas tax, still have to file a freedom of information request to see if that can actually be accounted for (though if you buy gas in the lower mainland you're helping fund Translink)

My property tax goes into the general tax fund here in Kelowna ... that pays for the roads that I use both in my car and on my bike ...

I am a member of MTBco and I give them money so they can maintain the trails that I mountain bike on ... direct "pay-to-play" you could say ...

The majority of money that everyone pays goes to roadways ... what is spent on cycling infrastructure is typically less than a blip of the annual budget ... where are all of these

If you want to read something interesting, check out the new I-66 tollway near Washington D.C. ... just like Uber they have "surge" pricing controlled by the average speed of the traffic, more traffic, higher tolls ...

https://www.wired.com/story/virginia-i66-toll-road/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/us/i66-toll-virginia-washington.html

Driving has had hidden costs for years ... but since we are addicted to cars we don't want to hear it ... it's doesn't fit into out fundamental belief that the car is the epitome of intelligent life ...

p.s. a bike rack that can handle 8 bicycles will cost about $100 per bike (and if it's at a business location they might qualify for a City subsidy of 50%, but they still pay) ... a single parking spot for a vehicle can exceed $25,000 ... which do you want to pay for?

[LTD]

your homeowner policy will not cover you clipping and injuring a pedestrian

[spooker]

your homeowner policy will not cover you clipping and injuring a pedestrian

My liability coverage does include injuries to others ... not all homeowner policies do ... but as this comes up as often enough with people who don't care to do the research I did qualify my coverage with my carrier ...

Or is there specific text that you are referring to? I can find the passage tomorrow in my coverage if you need something to compare it to ...

[alfred2]

All should pay to use the road.I would go one step further and have them pass a bikers test , and get a permit like all drivers.there are too many bikers break all rules of the road, they do not think if thet get hit it hurts them more the a car or truck. I REPEAT TEST THEM TO BE ABLE TO USE THE ROAD.

[LTD]

I haven't seen any home owners insurance that would cover that liability is generally a completely different policy but good for you if you have it my liability insurance isn't cheap, either way basic liability for cyclists could be achieved through purchasing a license for your bike just like they do with atvs

[Gone_Fishin]

God people are greedy. Not everything has to be about money! It should be cheap. It's good for the environment and our health. People should be encouraged to ride bikes.

So you're of the opinion that someone else should pay for the millions of dollars in cycling infrastructure in this city. I guess that's fine in self-righteous, moral superiority circles, but eventually they run out of other people's money. From the OP's post, it appears he's saying his money is running out to support what they want, so the rubber is meeting the road already.

User pay systems are far superior to siphoning other's wallets, and the accountability and personal responsibility for limited-use infrastructure helps ensure that the users themselves can target the use of funds to the areas they see the most need, rather than being subjected to a prescriptive, top-down approach. Win/win, IMO. You pay, you say where the funds should be spent.

[Gone_Fishin]

I haven't seen any home owners insurance that would cover that liability is generally a completely different policy but good for you if you have it my liability insurance isn't cheap, either way basic liability for cyclists could be achieved through purchasing a license for your bike just like they do with atvs

Agreed. I haven't seen any insurer offering such coverage, and I've had to go to the secondary market to get extra liability for my rec equipment needs. I think anyone who thinks they are covered should confirm it in writing with the insurer, as many people get nasty surprises from assuming they have coverage.

[spooker]

I haven't seen any home owners insurance that would cover that liability is generally a completely different policy but good for you if you have it my liability insurance isn't cheap, either way basic liability for cyclists could be achieved through purchasing a license for your bike just like they do with atvs

At face value it seems absolutely reasonable to say that cyclists need insurance ... but most cycling insurance offered currently is only for the bicycle ...

Car insurance started only being required when cars started causing damage that couldn't be reasonably covered out of pocket ... when speeds started rising, when weight started being a factor ...

What would you want a cyclist to pay insurance for that isn't already covered in some form or fashion? And where are the numbers that back up the lack of coverage? Should I be paying twice for the same coverage? Does my 5-year-old need to carry insurance because she rides on the sidewalk with her bike? Do I need an extra rider for each child dependent in my house for each of their bikes? What if a friend comes over and borrows a bike for us to ride to the park?

A bicycle is not a car, the typical situations do not apply ... we've got to figure this out or we're just going to keep the cycle of the car turning and never see the end of congestion or air pollution ...

[JLives]

So you're of the opinion that someone else should pay for the millions of dollars in cycling infrastructure in this city. I guess that's fine in self-righteous, moral superiority circles, but eventually they run out of other people's money. From the OP's post, it appears he's saying his money is running out to support what they want, so the rubber is meeting the road already.

User pay systems are far superior to siphoning other's wallets, and the accountability and personal responsibility for limited-use infrastructure helps ensure that the users themselves can target the use of funds to the areas they see the most need, rather than being subjected to a prescriptive, top-down approach. Win/win, IMO. You pay, you say where the funds should be spent.

Newsflash. You can ride a bike pretty much anywhere.
They're called mountain bikes for a reason. It doesn't have to be a road. That's just the only place they are able to ride in the city. User pay is lame. I pay for things other people use and have no problem with it. It's not all about me, I live in a society with a variety of other people. I'm totally fine being a driver and sharing roads with bike riders. I'm not a selfish person though.