3 months ago
23
Sydney’s peak-hour roads groan under gridlock, pollution and commuter frustrations, so a proposal to pay cyclists to ride to work is so obvious it is a wonder NSW governments have not previously considered such a simple fix.
In a Herald exclusive by reporter Daniel Lo Surdo, a secret internal document circulated by a senior government bureaucrat last October proposed that Sydney cyclists be paid to ride an e-bike or e-scooter to work under a European-inspired financial incentive scheme. The proposal is the opening salvo to promote the uptake of electric-powered devices on streets across the state. Among the sweeteners suggested were tax incentives that would allow riders to claim a per-kilometre allowance for each commute and one-off rebates to offset the expense associated with buying an e-bike.
Eugenio Tarantola rides an e-bike to the office in Sydney.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Similar schemes have been introduced in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and New Zealand, with widespread acceptance reported. Two years ago, Queensland and Tasmania also offered rebates to offset the expense of purchasing e-bikes. The bike-to-work programs found in most countries usually take the form of a tax incentive whereby tax-free bonuses are added to an employee’s salary each month for cycling to work, instead of driving a car.
There are more than a million e-bike and e-scooter owners in NSW, and almost one-third of residents in central Sydney own an e-bike, with the biggest uptake among cyclists in their teens and twenties.
But there are some bumps that need to be ironed out. E-bikes have safety concerns due to the fire threat posed by their lithium-ion batteries. Paris banned rental e-scooters in 2023, and an e-scooter trial in Melbourne was abruptly ended last year after footpaths were declared unsafe for pedestrians. Yet, we are grappling with many of the same issues, chief among them riding on footpaths, failure to wear helmets, drinking, hazardous dumping of rented bikes and the risk of injury to riders and bystanders alike. Insurance cover is not mandatory for private riders and is inconsistent among rental providers.
With e-scooters set to become legal on NSW public roads later this year, problematic issues associated with their use are not insurmountable. Public awareness campaigns like the one launched last year by Northern Beaches Council will help, as will common sense on all sides.
Should the Minns government agree to trial that pays cyclists to ride to work, undoubtedly there will be calls for dedicated bike lanes, charging stations and improvements in bicycle parking at train stations. Cycling organisations have pushed these policies for years, arguing that satnav tracking and the user-pays future awaiting vehicles will turbo-drive bike use among commuters.
The biggest disincentives to new cyclists could be Sydney’s hilly topography. But the benefits are self-evident: improved health and well-being, reduced carbon footprint (some reports say by 75 per cent) and low running costs that ensure financial savings. Paid to pedal to work certainly looks an idea whose time has finally come.
