Sir, – JD Mangan (October 5th) asserts that motorists subsidise infrastructure for cyclists who, furthermore, express not a "shred of gratitude" for such largesse. He is not the first to make this assertion but the rationale underlying it is plain wrong.
First, he refers to a series of levies – road tax, fuel tax and insurance costs – that apparently fund this subsidy. There has never been a “road tax” in Ireland. Instead we pay “motor tax”. This is not a trivial distinction – “road tax” implies a levy on using the highway. Motor tax is a tax on using a mechanically propelled vehicle (whether on-road or off-road) and reflects the negative externalities associated with the use of such vehicles (primarily pollution).
Cycling, by contrast, is associated with positive externalities; for example, cyclists tend to be healthier and thus impose fewer long-term costs on the healthcare system. As for fuel tax, if cyclists aren’t buying petrol it seems perverse to criticise them for not paying tax on it.
Cyclists don’t pay insurance but this reflects the actual risk they pose to society – an 80kg cyclist moving at 20k/ph poses considerably less threat to others than a 1,500kg vehicle moving at more or less any speed.
But most importantly, there is no relationship (even notionally) between these levies and the central exchequer-funded annual expenditures on building and maintaining our roads.
The budget of the National Roads Authority/Transport Infrastructure Ireland fell from €2.3 billion in 2008 to just over €764 million in 2015. Over the same period motor tax revenues remained at just over €1 billion. Thus to assert that motorists alone are paying for road infrastructure (somehow subsidising cyclists) is simply untenable.
In any case, your letter-writer’s construction of a “them versus us” scenario between motorists and cyclists is hard to sustain. In my experience, most cyclists are also drivers and pay precisely the levies JD Mangan refers to. – Yours, etc,
Dr RODDY FLYNN,
School of Communications,
Dublin City University,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Whether motor tax directly funds cycling infrastructure or not is irrelevant. We’re all contributing and benefiting in some way. Indirectly, people who make the effort to cycle to work are more productive, take fewer sick days, and reduce the strain on our health system, all of which have a positive effect on our economy and society. More directly, we reduce congestion for those who drive, along with reducing wear and tear on our roads.
So, yes, if a motorist thinks that taxation gives them the authority to ignore my right of way (unfortunately a daily occurrence), I do think it’s more appropriate to express my dissatisfaction rather than gratitude. When the tables are turned, they have no hesitation in doing likewise, and rightly so. – Yours, etc,
MICK McMULLIN,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The tax Mr Mangan pays is based on the emissions from his car’s engine. Apart from not paying any tax, cyclists also benefit from a safe and rapid commute, as well as exercise, with all its associated health benefits. Mr Mangan should give cycling a go; it may improve his mood in the mornings! – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN LEGGE,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
A chara, – Contrary to the assertion of JD Mangan, I, like many other cyclists, pay motor tax and insurance but get no reduction in either when I cycle instead of using my car.
I too have to endure the reckless and inconsiderate behaviour of some cyclists but the evidence, from our horrifying road accident statistics, is that the reckless and inconsiderate behaviour of some motorists delivers much more harm to cyclists, to pedestrians and to other motorists.
The reason that some cyclists sometimes fail to use the cycle lanes is not inexplicable. It is because of the poor design of much of the existing cycling infrastructure where cyclists are frequently obliged to share designated cycle lanes with pedestrians (legally) or with parked cars (sometimes legally but frequently illegally). – Is mise,
MAIRÉAD FORSYTHE,
Templeogue, Dublin 6W.
Sir, – Why do cyclists, like joggers and five-a-side football enthusiasts, seem to think they have a right to inflict their tales of injury woes to all in earshot? – Yours, etc,
ANNE BYRNE,
Bray, Co Wicklow.