Rego? On yer bike 

Increasing bike sales and declining sales of locally made cars are a sign of the times. For the seventh consecutive year, Australians have bought more bikes than cars. This has sparked calls for bike riders to pay registration fees. The argument is that the fees would reduce driver antagonism towards cyclists. But, there are important reasons why charging registration fees for cycling would be bad policy. No other countries charge their cyclists such a fee.

The Netherlands and Denmark don't, and they have some of the highest rates of cycling and road safety in the world. Cycling, for good reason, is seen as something that ought to be encouraged. Charging a fee would reduce the number of cyclists. Even mandatory helmet legislation in Australia in the early '90s lowered cyclist numbers by 30 per cent. At a time of rising obesity levels, spiralling congestion rates, climate change and high fuel costs, this is not the time to discourage cycling. Rather, there has never been a better time to reduce unnecessary car use and promote this pollution free, healthy, low-cost form of transport. Vehicle registration does not go close to paying the cost of motorised transport.

 

Governments spend about $7 billion on road infrastructure, but recoup only $3.8 billion in registration fees. Meanwhile, the Australian Road Safety Bureau reports that car crashes cost the economy $15 billion annually. That equates to $750 for every man, woman and child. In addition, congestion costs $19 billion in lost productivity. Clearly, it is motorists who are enjoying a heavily subsidised ride, not cyclists. Cyclists save governments the very costly consequences of sedentary lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. Access Economics found obesity cost in the order of $21 billion annually.

 

Some 70 per cent of Australians over 15 are considered to be sedentary. The World Health Organisation and the British Medical Association found cycling to significantly lower the incidence of not only obesity and diabetes, but heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. With an ageing population, Australia can make meaningful savings to its health budget by promoting cycling as a regular form of transport and exercise. Regular cycling represents one of the most cost-effective, practical ways of reducing obesity, diabetes and other diseases caused through inactivity.

 

Also, consider that 80 per cent of cyclists hold a driver's licence. Many of these cyclist/drivers own a car and pay registration. Why should drivers be penalised if they choose to leave their car at home and ride their bike? Road wear and tear is one of the main reasons motorists are charged a registration fee. A bicycle weighs a lot less than a car and therefore causes negligible damage to the road. If cyclists were charged a fee for wear and tear proportional to damage caused, we would be looking at a figure substantially less than it would cost to administer the charge.

 

It's a non issue. A registration fee would drop the rate of cycling. It would turn bicycle trips into car journeys. We would then see a rise in traffic congestion, obesity, diabetes, and greenhouse gas emissions. Is this the sort of public policy decision we want to make?