Bike Tax…Your thoughts on the subject?
Seems that the legislature in the cycling state of Portland is looking for cyclists to pay their way with bicycle registrations every two years!
From this blog, many oppose the idea as just another anti-bike culture scheme. Some feel this would aid in lowering the number of autos on the roads. Is a registration REALLY an answer to our dillema of equality or is this another personal agenda/attack on cyclists?
Would motorists that are ignorant to bicycle laws give cyclists better treatment if this bill is enacted into law? How do you feel about the subject? Any ideas for improvements?
O jeez, where to begin?
Does motor vehicle registration cover highway construction? Not even close. Does it ensure good motorist behavior? ROTFLMAO.
Do we respect motorists who violate the law because they have registered their vehicles?
I already pay for roadway improvements through property taxes, sales taxes (tho Oregon doesn’t have a sales tax) and indirectly paid gas taxes (when I buy goods and services I pay the shipping/travel costs, which include gas taxes). Not to mention when I buy gasoline for my car.
I buy a Prius and buy 250 gallons of gas a year I pay about $112 a year in gas taxes (plus the usual registration fee). But if I keep my existing car and buy a bike and ride it enough to reduce my gas consumption to the same 250 gallons, I pay the same $112 per year in gas tax, plus registration fee, PLUS the registration fee for the bike.
So what does Fred_dot_u do when he pays his tax and then they tell him he can’t ride on the road?
No, this is nothing more than looking at any and all ways to raise more tax monies because other tax sources are getting smaller. Cyclists get nothing in return for this tax/registration.
It’s usually non-cyclists who propose bike taxes.
The proposed figure ($54 for 2 years) most likely wouldn’t cover collection and enforcement costs. Or if it does, it won’t leave a whole lot left over.
Why not tax shoes to pay for sidewalks, and tax wheelchairs to pay for curb cuts? Will that make pedestrians and the disabled legitimate users of the infrastructure?
Fundamentally, public roads are for use by the public. The myriad taxes that fund the roads are not “tolls”.
There’s no connection between the taxes you pay and your right to use the roads. People who drive older, smaller cars (paying lower taxes) are not required to yield to people who drive newer, larger cars (paying more taxes).
People who drive to another city don’t have to pay a fee at the border to use those streets.
What MikeOnBike said.
And…
This kind of talk is bound to come up when a bike community becomes a “special interest” asking for more and more infrastructure. Especially in the case of Portland where they’ve created problems with bad bikeway design and keep trying to solve them with more and more expensive bad design. When the “solutions” to the problems start to take things away from the motoring majority (like placing bicyclists in front of a queue of traffic, eliminating right-turn on red, eliminating general traffic lanes to add bicycle lanes, etc.), expect a backlash. Expect restrictive laws and talk of making bicyclists pay for the stuff.
Right now, bike infrastructure (bike lanes/side paths) is being used to work around a social/education problem cause by our culture’s ignorance of safe cycling practices and car/speed-centric selfishness. If we built a foundation of education and mutual respect, we’d find the infrastructure needs are less expensive.
fred_dot_u is still wondering if the verdict (when/if he gets a court date) is guilty means he can’t ride safely on the majority of roads in Volusia County, irrespective of taxes, fees and the like.
I’ve discovered that the fine for violation of 316.2065 has gone from US$15.00 to US$49.50, which is absurd!
That’s almost two years of riding permits in Portland!
Whose Roads?, by Todd Litman, (British Columbia Researcher) gives a review of data collected on taxes, user-fees, and who subsidizes what.
Good Job Keri! you nailed it. Can’t engineer “safety” into the cyclist like an airbag or seatbelt. Cyclist need to learn, trust themselves and know how to share the road.
How about I don’t have to pay a special bike tax, and they don’t have to build special facilities for me? Sounds like a win-win situation!