Yes. Yes I think I am.
Whenever using any other form of transport, one is expected to subsidise the infrastructure of that transport - by paying the ticket or the tax.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 13:41, 2 replies)

Unless you're on foot in a pedestrainised zone...

(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 13:46, closed)

No - I've said already
That's paid for.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 13:49, closed)

But so is a coat of green paint denoting a cycle path, not to mention a bridleway
I may be being particularly stupid, but I fail to see what taxing a cycle every year would achieve that simply cranking up the level of on the spot fines for red light jumping cyclists wouldn't.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:18, closed)

It would make people think twice about just getting on a bike and buggering about in town, just as one does a car.
It wouldn't disuade people to any significant degree - people who want to ride will ride, just as they do with cars.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:21, closed)

Erm..... How?
Surely the risk of a high fine would disuade more cyclists from jumping red lights than they would if they paid for an annual license?

Anyway, the idea is to get more people to jump on bikes and travel short distances, no?
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:25, closed)

I think if you had to go through the rigmarole of paperwork and pay insurance
you'd have a hell of a lot more respect for bike-riding.

But as for encouraging people to ride bikes - not from me - I don't care how you get to work - I'm certainly not one of those "environment" poseurs, I just think that however you do get to work, you should obey the rules of the road.

I don't charge the barriers on the tube because I'm going a shorter distance than others. I don't expect cyclists to expect to be able to break the laws because they don't like some of them.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:28, closed)

Hmm
Does paying Vehicle Excise Duty stop boy racers from driving their souped up Corsas in an antisocial fashion?

I'm not an environment poseur either - I pay over the odds for a bike frame manufactured in Taiwan and shipped halfway round the world, that I've maintained and built up in my own time and at considerable expense. Plus I love cycling too.

You won't see me jumping red lights or cycling on the pavement.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:32, closed)

No obviously it won't completely stop twats being twats.
But I'm sure a bit of regulation, legal enforcement, and personal and financial accountability would stop couriers being so, and likewise the vast majority of cyclists.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:35, closed)

Then perhaps better enforcement of on the spot fines at traffic lights would achieve the same ends, no?

(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:35, closed)

And taxes. I think the taxes would make bike ownership, distribution and acceptance
far more respected - like that of a car. Owning a stolen car anywhere beyond Chavland is not cool or acceptable, and those who own and use cars are expected and respected for using and respecting the rules of the road.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:42, closed)

I assume you're a driver?
Has Vehicle Excise Duty disuaded you from speeding?

As a cyclist I can give plenty of examples of bad driving where drivers have failed to uphold the rules of the road, despite obviously paying a levy to use it.

[edit]

Taxes are already levied on the distribution and sale of bicycles, in the forms of import duty and VAT.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:50, closed)

I'm not a driver, no.
But I won't object to paying my dues and respecting the rules of the road if/when I become one if/when I move out of Mordor.

Taxes are already levied on imported cars.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:54, closed)

Back to my first point. Car drivers getting out of cars and onto bikes benefits the remaining car drivers, so they should pay for it.
(Pete_G, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 13:52, closed)

People dying means more resources for the rest, so funerals should be paid for by everyone else.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:25, closed)

Er, they are. People pay for the extra, above-bog-standard bells-and-whistles, like a decent coffin, a moving service, triangular sandwiches for the reception, and so forth. But the basics are free, if you choose (/are left with no option but) to avail yourself of the service.

If one concludes that the niceties you pay for pay for to make your loved one's funeral specifically tailored to him/her are analogous to the tarmac and road furniture used to make the public highway more specifically tailored for cars, we're essentially in agreement that the basics are free, and you pay for the extras.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:39, closed)

Hmm.
Alright - we'll call it a draw.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 14:41, closed)

Horse tax, anyone?

Anyway. The public highways are exactly that - highways, for the use of the public, which - other than the odd turnpike here and there - have historically not incurred a direct cost for users. On my mountain bike, I do not require the modifications to the public highways which are demanded by cars - I can live without all your newfangled fancy tarmacadamised surfacing and whatnot. Car users are paying extra due to the significant cost of rendering public highways - free for other forms of transport, which have every right to use them - suitable for their transit. And because it's a fantastic source of revenue for central government.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Wed 4 Aug 2010, 13:53, closed)