A grand idea for cyclists

WHAT'S THE STORY WITH THE €1,000 DEAL FOR CYCLISTS?:  YOU WOULD IMAGINE that if people were told there was a way they could save themselves €1,000 a year while simultaneously reducing their stress levels, losing weight, strengthening their hearts and increasing their punctuality no end, they'd jump at the chance? Of course they would. Until they realised they would have to leave their car keys at home and start cycling to work. Then the excuses would inevitably start: it'll be cold and wet; I'll get sweaty; I might be hit by a car; I'll look ridiculous; my bike will be stolen; it's too far - the list of reasons why the vast majority of adults in this country have a almost pathological dislike of cycling is long.

Despite public wariness, the Government has ambitious plans to get 10 per cent of Irish commuters - in excess of 150,000 people - on their bikes before 2020 with a view to easing city-centre congestion and reducing the country's carbon footprint on the cheap.

With two cycling Greens in Cabinet, the Government is trying to make it more financially attractive, although it has proved to be an uphill cycle. Apart from a handful of derisory "on yer bike" headlines, a pro-cycling proposal (one of the few consumer-friendly plans outlined in the Budget) has been largely ignored in recent weeks as a tidal wave of rage swept over the Government due to its plans to take away over-70s' automatic entitlement to a medical card.

In order to encourage more people to cycle, the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, is to give tax breaks to cyclists and their employers. Under the plan, which begins in January, employees working for participating companies - the scheme is voluntary - can choose a bicycle and any associated safety equipment up to a maximum value of €1,000 which the employer will then buy; the purchase will be treated as a tax-exempt benefit-in-kind.

We contacted both the Department of Finance and the Department of the Environment to see how they would be encouraging their employees to take to their bikes and were told that both departments would be embracing the new tax relief measures enthusiastically.

A FINANCE SPOKESWOMAN said it already offered its employees shower facilities and had a bike park. Across the Liffey, in the Custom House offices of the Department of the Environment, the spokesman was keener still. He pointed out that John Gormley, himself a keen cyclist, "will actively encourage" his colleagues to do likewise.

He said there was "a self-contained bicycle facility and there are showers available for cyclists. We also have a workplace travel plan which actively encourages the healthier, sustainable options of walking or cycling for all or part of the journey." He said the department had recently participated in the Ecology Foundation's Cycle to Work scheme, a not-for-profit programme which aims to operate as a one-stop-shop service for employers to facilitate their employees cycling to work - that means providing the bicycles, safety accessories and training and any other necessary support.

"The scheme is being operated through the Dublin Transportation Office. They gave a presentation to staff here in the department on the benefits of cycling to work. The department has engaged in this scheme and staff are availing of the bicycles for use to cycle to work. We are also in the process of setting up the bicycle user group in the department."

David Maher of the Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) is "very happy" with the new measures and is optimistic it will encourage more people to get out of their cars and onto their bikes. "I would have fainted if I had read about the introduction of a policy like this in the paper 10 years ago so at least we can take some comfort from the fact that transport policy has moved on a little bit," he says.

He believes many "enlightened employers" who are struggling to pay in excess of €2,000 for parking spaces for their employees will be keen to take advantage of the move. "I think the €1,000 in tax relief is more than sufficient. You can get a good bike for €350 and all the gear for another €100. We do need to tip the balance for people who are considering taking their bikes to work, to give them that little bit of encouragement to leave their cars at home."

According to research carried out by the DCC, some 60 per cent of people who cycle to work have access to a car but choose to commute on "what is far and away the most efficient way of getting into the city". Maher describes driving as "incredibly inefficient. You drive in at speeds of around six miles per hour, guzzling expensive petrol while stuck in traffic."

There is also a cultural problem which is behind the enormous reluctance of many otherwise sensible adults to consider cycling. Of all the reasons people put forward for not cycling, sweat, safety, rain and ridiculousness are the big four.

The fear of getting wet is a red herring as, according to Met Éireann statistics, someone from Dublin who cycles 15 minutes to work, five days a week, will be rained on only four days out of 100 (admittedly, in Galway, where it seems to rain on two out of every three days, the chances of getting soaked are considerably higher).

"If you're cycling short distances and don't cycle like a madman then you won't need a shower when you get to work," Maher says. "These excuses are not real. Safety, on the other hand, is a real issue and the key problem here is the complete non-enforcement of basic traffic laws in this country. Cars routinely park illegally in cycle lanes and the Garda don't seem to care."

BUT HOW MUCH does a cyclist save? A commuter who lives in Sutton - some seven miles from Dublin, will spend €3.80 on a return Dart ticket into the city daily. Allowing four weeks for holidays and a further week for sick days, the average Sutton-based commuter will spend €893 on train tickets each year. Someone taking the bus in from Rathmines, meanwhile, will spend €690 annually while it will cost someone coming in to Dublin city centre from Goatstown on the Luas just shy of €1,000 every year.

Stuck in traffic and travelling an average of six miles per hour, motorists are spending even more on driving to work.

A decent bicycle including lights and reflective gear, on the other hand, will cost €350. Assuming it is not stolen, the Sutton-based cyclist will save themselves €2,329 over the course of three years while the person living in Goatstown will find themselves with an extra €2,611 at the end of year three, enough to pay for a couple of holidays to the Caribbean.