22 May 2008  Rewarding Cyclists - And Countering Bad Arguments
A reader wrote an email regarding a discussion he had on a forum
about bike registration. The other chap argued that "if bikes
want to use the roads then they should pay for it, just like
cars have to." I was asked about bike registration in Europe and
my reply became so lengthy that I figured I'd post it here.
Feel free to contribute with other points of view and stats in
the Comments section.  This "bikes should pay" argument is not
unknown to me but it is, in many ways, a rather weak argument.
Regarding bike registration in Europe, there are half a billion
citizens in the European Union alone. 100 million of them ride a
bicycle on a daily basis according to the European Cyclists'
Federation. None of them are inconvenienced by bicycle
registration, least of all the Netherlands or Denmark - the two
countries with most bike usage.  Here's three good counter-
arguments from my ragged little bag of opinions:  1. Road Usage
and Wear and Tear Firstl