Your government at work:

I can remember in the 1960s when there was a bicycle license ordinance in my city. I had a small, pressed steel license plate. A neighboring city had plastic decals. And I don't know how widespread it was. But I had the impression that it was common. And I don't know why it faded away. But I have the impression that there was no enforcement and no compliance.

I'm not crazy about licensing bicycles. But if it takes away the autos argument that we 'don't belong' on the roads, then I'd be fairly happy about paying a small fee. But if we were licensed, then law enforcement would have to take that issue more seriously.

And that Yahoo News article pointed at the revenues generated being used to pay for bicycle infrastructure. That's not necessarily a bad thing at all.

I'm still not a big fan of licensing. But it doesn't have to be bad. And if we ever become truly common, then it'll probably be necessary.
 
Peddle bikes don't cause air pollution the Gov. should be giving us a tax incentive to ride them more often as well as a gas credit for long term Bicycle commuters who only occasionally use their car for longer distances traveled or family orientated travel of two or more occupants in a car.
Does the Gov. really think that all Americans are stupid ? apparently
 
Interesting idea, but hard to say if it'll ever really work out without the regional gov't simply collecting the money. I agree, though, it'd be nice to be able to shut up the drivers who spout the 'bikes don't belong on the road' nonsense sometimes.
(I own a car, I pay the usual bills for it; I may not own the house I live in, but my landlord pays the property taxes with the money I give him, so therefor I pay my property taxes too).
 
truckd said:
Does the Gov. really think that all Americans are stupid ? apparently
Click to expand...

One of the signs on my wall... "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." In my experience, the bigger the crowd, the lower the collective I.Q.
 
I have no problem paying a bicycle license fee. Where I live there are nice well kept bike lanes on all the newer roads. A safe haven from cars, a lane to our own. It's costs money to make roads wider for bike lanes and I will gladly fork over my share.
 
The thing being ignored is that these bike lanes are already paid for with existing taxes. They're always looking for new ways to tax the public. Case in point; I got a fix it ticket for my car, issued by a petermaid at school rotfl, for which I was innocent of if they had ran my plates and seen that it was legal, which was $135 if left uncorrected, $10 if signed off, I talked to the officer who signed it off and she said that they had privatized their parking ticket system (which assumes guilty unless proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt, almost impossible to fight since their office is in Socal and they don't accept any supporting evidence for defense as valid) because it cost too much to process tickets. The local parking authority office is closed to the public and doesn't hold hearings, and I explained that this is severely questionable from a legal standpoint, to which she replied that parking tickets would have to be $500 if they were to process them locally at the courthouse. You don't have to be a lawyer to see that this is a way to collect tax without means for representation.
 
I collect bicycle license plates from around the world and I always wondered why some countries/states/cities stopped their licensing schemes.
Some of my bikes carry age appropriate license plates and in particular my Chinese made 28inch wheeled bikes all carry Chinese license plates. It makes for a great talking point with other wheel men and women I meet.

Seriously though I think that bicycle licensing/registration does have its advantages in that those who ride bicycles will then have a lever to lobby with. Here in NZ the present National Party (think Republican party, but with less fascism, more short sightedness and too much interest in the bottom line on the ledger sheet instead of whether their policies are actually good for the average citizen), decided to develop a nationwide network of cycleways that would cover most of the country. This wasn't done to help out local cyclists, but with the aim of attracting more people from overseas to visit the country. Tourists = $$$$$$$ in the government coffers.

As it happens this has worked out well in the district where I live because it's now possible to ride by bicycle to all the surrounding towns without having to ride on the roads. Very useful during the idiot season during Summer when the city dwellers are let out to run loose all over the rural countryside in their motorcars. For our district the cycleway project has worked out great, but this is by no means universal.
With funding coming from bicycle registration it would become possible for cyclists to demand that all future roading and infrastructure projects take bicycle use into account. Not so long ago a major roading project was being planned here in NZ for Auckland our largest city. Cycleways were going to be included until some bean counter decided that they would be too expensive. As usual short sighted thinking won the day and a great opportunity to help reduce the shocking traffic congestion in Auckland was lost.
 

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I think governments are looking for revenue in the wrong places. If they really believe Global Warming is man made, they should encourage bicycle riding with incentives rather than discourage it with taxes. Taxing bicycles is no different than taxing vices like tobacco and alcohol. It's a cash cow for the government.
 
We're starting to skirt the edges of what is allowed as far as political discussion folks.
As you all are fully aware the forum does not tolerate political or religious content. Let's ease up on the rants and keep the forum rules in mind.

Thanks for listening and for your compliance.

Tom
 
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Consider what Intrepid Wheelwoman said a few posts back.

She can ride from town to town without riding in traffic. On a 'highway' meant for bicycles.

I'd pay some fairly steep fees and taxes for that.

Of course, our two stroke IC engines, and others, would not be allowed. That would be a shame.

And I hate to say it here, of all places, but I'd go back to strictly pedal biking if that's what it took. I'd still be happy as a clam.

Or we could all go electric. They'd probably be allowed.
 
Look out, folks. I just can't resist a bit of thread hijacking here.

Help me out, Intrepid Wheelwoman:

It's easy to see that New Zealand has a culture that's descended from British culture. But did the Dutch get in there as well? There's just something about the "Zealand" part of the name that seems to point toward the Netherlands.
 
There's 2 things I get from this article.

1. we're worse than the Nazis
2. someday they're going to charge a shoe tax
 
You Godwin'd the thread? You, who just spent 10 grand so you could ride legal on bike trails?

Amazing.
 
biknut said:
There's 2 things I get from this article.

1. we're worse than the Nazis
2. someday they're going to charge a shoe tax
Click to expand...
You know a thread is going dowhill when someone brings up Nazis and shoes are already taxed along with your underwear which is why I don't wear either of them unless it is absolutely unavoidable ...
 
here in my small town , we are encouraged to get a city bicycle liscense , motor or not
it costs $5.00 & you add your bikes serial number & color & any description
you fill out a small card & they give you a small sticker ...that info is entered into a national bike theft database
if you are found with out that sticker , there is a possibility of losing your bike
since your name & the bike's numbers are now tied together ,,its your proof it belongs to you
also you could be fined $100
 
[QUOTE="bluegoatwoid]

It's easy to see that New Zealand has a culture that's descended from British culture. But did the Dutch get in there as well? There's just something about the "Zealand" part of the name that seems to point toward the Netherlands.[/QUOTE]
Abel Tasman "discovered" NZ with a bunch of Maori's living there.
Hence the Dutch name.
Captain Cook came sailing along later. :)
 
MotorBicycleRacing said:
Abel Tasman "discovered" NZ with a bunch of Maori's living there.
Hence the Dutch name.
Captain Cook came sailing along later. :)
Click to expand...

Full marks MBR :) Yes the Dutch claimed the naming rights and Captain Cook came sailing along later, but for a short while before 1860 there was a certain amount of competition over whether the British or the French were going to claim New Zealand as a colony. There are some places in New Zealand where the French influence lingered on for a long time, but overall New Zealand is strongly based on British colonial foundations.

I haven't been down to the local district council offices yet to ask if a gas engined bicycle can be used on the cycleways, but I think it's highly likely that they will tell me, 'No'. Under the traffic regulations an electric power assisted bicycle is classified as being the same as a normal pedal bicycle so I think there won't be any problem with using an e-bike on the cycleway.
Owning several classic pedal bikes as I do I've been along the cycleways on everything from a 1940's ladies Raleigh to a fully tricked out alloy group set equipped 10 speed from the early 1980's. Living with a fatigue illness as I do though owning an e-bike for riding on the cycleway would be about the best of both worlds as I really do love riding a bicycle.

If paying bicycle registration meant that more good and well maintained cycleways became available here in NZ I'd be more than happy to dig for my coin purse and pay up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8MHJcufyzk&feature=youtu.be

http://www.nzcycletrail.com/hauraki-rail-trail
 
I'd be all for it if they would expand the bikeway system here, which has stalled out in its construction toward being a pipe dream for completion. The thing is, they like to do stuff like wing nut talked about, taking your bike from you if its not registered, hassling cyclists, etc. I seriously doubt in this state that completely lacks any sense of fiscal responsibility that if they collected millions of dollars from bike registrations, that it would actually go toward anything bicycle related. They would probably buy MRAP's for the local police to bomb around in.
 
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