A rebuttal

Answering a question from a fellow cyclist


I was lucky enough to have a comment on my blog from a 'fellow cyclist' who gave me a number of questions to think about and to blog about.

It was in response to my cycling article, which pushed for a more cycling friendly city. My main argument was that cyclists should be more welcome and catered for in cities such as Sydney, because cars are becoming unsustainable in terms of their environmental impact and indirect impacts of congestion, fuel consumption and infrastructure costs.

Matt Coulton (from the comments section) has raised some great points, they are:

• Firstly, car uses contribute a lot of extra government revenue including fuel tax, registration, paid parking etc. Should cyclists be expected to contribute more if they wish to enjoy the benefits of public infrastructure?
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• Secondly, if we want safety on the roads, surely cyclists have to be law-abiding and accountable, just like drivers. At the moment, some cyclists ride on footpaths and across pedestrian crossing, yet they also want to switch to roads and bike paths when it is more convenient for them.
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• Thirdly, the unregulated, unpredictable nature of urban cycling makes it dangerous; especially if numbers are to increase. Furthermore, cyclists speed, fail to give way and stop at red lights and ignore pedestrian crossings, yet there is no system of registration or identification.

I agree to some of these points. Through registration and parking, cars do contribute revenue to be used for other government spending. One of the biggest complaints regarding cyclists has been the lack of accountability in terms of registration and licencing, which gives cyclists a certain 'freedom' on the road. However, if forced to register bikes, people may not even make that effort.


However, I would argue that with more cyclists on the road and less cars, it would make financial sense in the long term.

How so?

Less cars would mean less parking, which means car parks and car parking lots could be sold for residential development or other developments beneficial to the community. With less traffic congestion, commuters would be more productive and more efficient, with less time lost to being stuck in traffic.

If more cyclists were to come onto the road, there would have to be greater accountability to the law. Road rules ensure safety, and cyclists (I do this too) feel that to be safer, we must flaunt some road rules.

This might take the form of more police officers on bikes controlling cyclists, or greater fines for breaking road laws.

Lastly, I personally think that forcing cyclists to register would impede casual cyclists, however, Matt brings up a good point. For a greater mass of cyclists to ride around the city and outer areas, they need to be accountable.

Small registration fees, with a tag on your bike or helmet, would mean that you are recognisable as a rider and can be picked up for your discretion's.

Obviously there would have to be greater infrastructure in place for cyclists, but overall I am still a believer that more cyclists would mean a better and cleaner city. Thank you Matt for your comments, and I hope you continue to argue.

For my next blog I want to continue to explore the alternatives to cars.


For articles and arguments on this topic, check out these articles:

• https://australian-cyclists-party.org/latest-media-release/rego-history/
• http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/on-your-bike/18-reasons-why-registering-bicycles-is-a-bad-idea-20150318-1m23gh.html
• http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/on-your-bike/why-cyclists-should-never-pay-rego-20120614-20bk6.html