Fulliautomatix said:
So as the owner of one or more registered vehicles (as are the majority
of cyclists IMHO);
When I am using the road system via bicycle instead of registered
vehicle...I am still paying for the infrastructure.
In fact I am paying full rate for using an unrated vehicle...so I should
get a refund on my rego
Some of today's letter writers make that point, pity though no one mentioned consolidated revenue actually pays for the majority of infrastructure costs.
From todays (11/01/08) Age letters.
***
Free run makes sense for bikes
LESLIE-JOHN Newman (Letters, 10/1) suggests that cyclists are getting a free ride and should pay registration. I understand the frustration of being gridlocked in Melbourne traffic every morning, and slugging the non-gridlocked with a hefty financial penalty would seem the perfect way for him to make himself feel less aggrieved. However, there are a few good reasons cyclists should be left to use the roads free of charge.
Most cyclists also own a car and contribute to the upkeep of roads through their car registration fees. As convenient as it is to cycle to work, there are other facets of life: visiting the folks in Mentone, getting to the golf course and using the Pakenham Bypass all require a car.
Motorists should give a little silent cheer every time they see a cyclist. Each bicycle means one less car choking up the Monash Freeway — or one extra space on a train. Cyclists help the rest of Melbourne get to work more quickly and cheerfully.
Cyclists don't contribute to greenhouse emissions. We should be encouraging people to ride bikes, not providing financial disincentives. If cycling remains free, more people might do it. Who knows, in 30 years, there may still be ice in Antarctica and St Kilda may not be completely under water.
How exciting to be able to use Victoria's roads without paying! We should celebrate the free ride and get on our bikes.
Bruce Hurst, Fairfield
Driving is the indulgence
IT IS fair that cyclists do not have to pay to use the roads. Cars cause noise and air pollution, create traffic problems, cause carnage and a huge cost to our health system, are an environmental nightmare and (along with heavy vehicles) cause nearly all the wear and tear on the road system. Bicycles do none of this, and the only real cost to society from cycling is when cyclists come into contact with cars. We in affluent societies think of driving as a right, but, in fact, it is an indulgence.
Paul Tyndale-Biscoe, Flemington
Cue to cut charges
BY CHOOSING to ride a bicycle some of the time, cyclists are causing less wear and tear on roads, not to mention the benefits to air quality and the flow-on effect to the health system of keeping themselves healthier. So perhaps cyclists should actually receive a reduction on their car registrations?
Tracey Bjorksten, North Melbourne
Make everyone pay
NEWMAN is right on the knocker. Make the user pay for the upkeep of surfaces! And while we're at it, what about pedestrians paying for the upkeep of footpaths? Special rates would have to be struck depending on whether prams or shopping jeeps accompany said peds. And let's not forget those dangerous little nippers on tricycles or roller skates or skateboards. A logical extension to this excellent plan would be to levy compulsory third-party insurance on all the aforementioned. Then we could sue when some thoughtless mother runs us down with an overloaded pusher, or some wretched child scares the living daylights out of us zooming past on an out-of-control plank on wheels.
I'm quite excited about the prospects of this proposal and will write further when I have developed a scheme to deal with dog droppings and councils that allow shade trees to distort the pavement surface.
Rosalind Poole, Abbotsford
Bike rego
I WOULD be more than willing to pay a registration fee for my bike (based on weight) as long as I get a discount for not using my car.
Ray Jones, Box Hill North
CYCLISTS, users of public transport and pedestrians should really get a refund for reducing their greenhouse damage.
Ian Price, The Basin