Should We Tax Cyclists?

I often see the sentiment that cyclists should pay "their fair share" by avoiding the costs associated with driving. License, insurance, maintenance and gas. But do all of those things even pay for our roads? And should there be a bike lane tax?

0:00 Cyclists should pay taxes
1:00 Who pays for our streets
1:59 Driver Vs. Cyclist
2:55 Damage to roads
3:55 Cost benefit of bikes
4:15 Externality of driving
4:58 We all need roads
5:46 Cyclists subsidize drivers

[nicthedoor]

I got a little saucy at the end...I just couldn't help myself.

[EenYouTubeGebruiker]

It's just as silly as complaining why pedestrians don't pay taxes for their sidewalks.

[techcafe]

the fact is, we all subsidize roads, highways, parking, and lots of other infrastructure needed to support car ownership… even those of us who have never owned or driven a car end up paying for the privileges enjoyed, and taken for granted, by those who do drive.

[chriswilson]

Bikers wanted to be treated the same as car drivers but refuse to cause 50, 000 fatalities a year

[roderickcortez]

Oh please. Even if cyclists paid EXTRA taxes to ride their bikes, motorists would still be crying and complaining.

[nommchompsky]

The problem is you can't actually see most of the benefits cyclists create for drivers, but 100% of your attention is focused on being angry when you have to wait a few seconds for oncoming traffic to go by so you can pass the cyclist in front of you

[geoffmerritt]

I work as a tax accountant in Australia. One of my clients was complaining that cyclists don't pay "road tax." After explaining how the tax system works and that there is no such tax, I pointed out at the end of the interview that they were under the tax-free threshold and no tax was payable by them. In fact, as a cyclist, I contributed more towards the upkeep of the roads than they did, earning more than they did.

[jdillon]

Yep. Most of those angry anti-bike folk really have no idea how roads are funded.

[nbartlett]

In the UK we hear all the time that cyclists should pay "road tax". Of course there is no such thing as "road tax", at least not since the 1930s! What we do have is Vehicle Excise Duty, which is calculated on the carbon emissions of a vehicle. So whenever somebody says I pay no VED, I point out that neither do electric cars... and they are doing far more damage to the roads with their monstrous weight.

[Dragongard]

even the most car centric german lobbies found out in their studies that bikers net a positive for everyone else by using a bike.

[localnyraccoon]

I think a lot of drivers are just mad that we don't choose the most expensive and inefficient way to travel everyday.

[TommyJonesProductions]

Car drivers wear out the roads. Bicycles don't. Bicycle riders already pay taxes. This argument is stupid.

[mariusfacktor]

I like the NJB quote, something like, "You want bicycle riders to pay their fair share? Okay, start calculating their refund checks."

If car drivers only got the pavement they themselves paid for, there would be far less streets and roads, and quite frankly, maybe there should be. I don't like the idea of my tax dollars going to subsidize a wealthy family living in some exurb who has an enormous carbon footprint due to where they choose live. Let's use our tax dollars to incentivize living sustainably, or at the very least let's stop doing the exact opposite.

I like that stat at 3:35. A mile of bicycle infra is 300X less expensive than a mile of car infra. I'll use that in the future.

[OhTheUrbanity]

Welcome to the wonderful world of responding to annoying comments on YouTube!

[fallenshallrise]

Any REAL car person would be campaigning for 4x as many bike lanes, secure bike parking, free transit, bus lanes, elevated trains, metros - anything to get some number of the thousands of mundane people in their silver KIA mini-vans to run their errands some other way and not clog up the roads.

[ryansupak]

I'm open to this. Let's pay, proportionately, by cost of infrastructure. I'll be even more generous: car drivers don't even have to pay for the carbon footprint that is a direct result of their choices. Based on these conservative numbers: how much is the check that the government will be sending me? (;

[oomoses]

All these bootlickers calling for more taxes and licensing... disgusting. Some people bike because they can't afford a vehicle with licensing, insurance, maintenance, gas, and gas tax. Let's have the government make biking too expensive for them too!

[JRTTSRoadCycling]

If there is indeed such a loophole that can make people skip taxes by choosing a bicycle as a mode of transport, then EVERYONE will be cyclists.

[PixelShade]

I also find it funny that a road built for cars last about 10 years until they fall into disrepair, while something like a bike path from my dad's home in the suburb to the city that was constructed 30 years ago still doesn't have any signs of wear or pot holes even as they experience Swedish winters... Who would've guessed that the weight of a cyclist ~60-90kg doesn't inflict as much damage on the road as a modern car of 2000kg.

[BlacqueJacqueShellacque_]

As a cyclist, I agree. I suggest that everyone is charged $1/kg for the weight of the vehicle (each year). 🙂