‘It would be a wrong turn to tax cyclists’

He was responding to Deputy David De Lisle’s suggestion that bicycles should be licensed.

‘More people cycling as part of everyday life supports critical policy priorities for Guernsey, such as housing delivery, reducing congestion, and encouraging healthy, affordable, and sustainable transport choices,’ he said.

‘We suspect the States would not want the administrative burden. We’re seeing a sustained trend of more people choosing to cycle, so the effort needs to be on infrastructure measures to make our road networks work better for everyone.

‘Everyone has the right to share the road, whatever their mode of transport. Following the Highway Code is the best mechanism for cyclists, motorists, and all road users to ensure it happens safely.’

Robert Cornelius, managing director of Forest Road Garage and president of the Guernsey Motor Trades Association, however did give some merit to the licensing suggestion.

‘From a GMTA point of view, you have to ask why bikes shouldn’t pay tax as they use the road,’ he said.

‘If we all change to bicycles, Guernsey has a tax issue. The motorist pays through duty and road tax. How do you maintain the road network without that tax income?’

However, he did add that any bicycle taxation scheme would be very difficult to administer.

‘How would you implement it would be the question? It probably wouldn’t be practical to enforce.’

Currently no countries in the world specifically tax cycling, other than through general taxation that goes in part towards roads, and in most jurisdictions, tax laws are designed to encourage cycling.

In Europe alone there are nearly 300 tax incentive and purchase-premium schemes for cycling offered by national, regional and local authorities to

make it attractive to cycle more and drive less.