Tom Stormcrowe

I figure you folk here in LCF would appreciate this one. I'd love to see a program where people get a $4500 credit for any clunker car that is traded in on a bike or trike (And even an ebike if you have physical disability). Discuss.......and have some fun with it. See if you can craft an actual proposal. We could actually turn it in on the White House website if we could put it together.

DX-MAN

Heck, I'd settle for 1/2 that! (Trouble is, my last clunker went bye-bye 5 years ago.)

But $2250 would get me over the biggest hurdle to my new Nomad!

Platy

That program would benefit only current car owners. I don't have a clunker to trade in.

Roody

Now if I could trade in an old Fuji or Hardrock for a brand new bike...hell yeah! I have plenty of those clunkers breeding in my garage.

Scheherezade 

Unfortunately, those vehicles already have emission standards much too high to be turned in for the program.

Az B

It would be nice to see a program that rewarded the people that made the right decisions to begin with. It would also be terrific if the administration considered developing alternative transport rather than spending such a huge amount of money subsidizing the auto industry.

Az

Roody

Sure, I'd love to be given $4500, but I don't see how this would help the economy.

The primary reason for the Cash For Clunkers program is to speed economic recovery by drawing down surplus supplies of automobiles, the biggest sector of manufacturing. Bicycles represent a microscopic portion of manufactured goods, and AFAIK there is no huge surplus of them. So I don't think paying people to buy bikes is going to hasten economic recovery.

A secondary reason for C4C is to reduce pollution and fuel consumption by increasing overall efficiency of the US auto fleet. Obviously, there would be a much larger impact on efficiency if people switched to bikes instead of higher-mileage cars. But does anybody really believe that this would happen? I bet if you gave 10 million people money to buy bikes, there would be at least 9.9 million additional bikes gathering dust in American garages. Or maybe some people would put the rebated bikes on their car racks and drive to the MUPs and MTB trails.

I'm all for the government nudging its citizens to ride bikes instead of drive cars. But rather than giving cash rebates, I think the money would be better spent if it went to infrastructure improvements and consumer marketing, in order to make cycling as transportation more palatable for more people. And if you want to make bikes part of the economic recovery effort, I think it would be better for governments (mostly on the state and local level) to offer incentives to build factories for the construction of frames and parts--providing American jobs for American bikes.

Newspaperguy

Something like this was tried in Kelowna, B.C. a few years ago. Because of concerns about air pollution, there was a program to give some money to those replacing an older car with a newer, more efficient model. But the program also would give money for someone getting rid of the car and buying a scooter, a bicycle, inline skates, several pairs of running or walking shoes or transit passes.

bedlam

Newspaperguy, we actually have this province-wide in BC:

I think the guys at the LBS told me that you can get the full $1200 towards a bike, but on the site itself I can only see that you can get $6-700...

Roody

We even have a similar deal in the US, except it's offered as tax credits to employers, to be disbursed to employees for commuting to work. I think most of the funds go to van pools and transit passes, but you can get a bit ($20 a month, IIRC) for bicycle commuting.

This US program is not part of the stimulus efforts. It's funded through the regular Transportation Bill. The purpose is to decrease pollution and congestion by cutting back auto commutes to work.

tsl

Yes, but the hitch that no-one talks about--even here on BF--is that companies are eligible ONLY if they already subsidize parking or something else for drivers. I don't know for certain, but I don't think mileage reimbursement counts.

I've investigated this at work. It's a no-go since they don't pay for parking. Even though my union negotiated reduced-price monthly bus passes as an employee perk, that doesn't qualify for the $20/month bike commuter program. (And besides, I work for the government, they don't get or need tax incentives.)

On the other hand, I get secure, indoor parking for free, and drivers have to park outdoors (at the branches) or pay to park in the ramp garage (downtown.)

Still, $4,500 would just about cover the frame on my dream commuter rig.

Tom Stormcrowe

The main benefit we'd get would be a secondary one. If it were instituted, it'd be a clear statement that the US Gov considers a bicycle a valid mode of transportation. It would get more cyclists out there. It'd get a few clunker cars off the road, and later, when the give it up folks park their bikes and get new cars, the car sales wold take a bump as well. Meantime, for a window of time, we'd have an oportunity to get infrastructure legislation through and budgeted.

linux_author

a much better 'statement' would be mandatory accommodation of multi-use for any highway improvement seeking federal monies from U.S. DOT

but it will never happen - most of the current projects are due to advocacy efforts at the local or county level...

for example, here's NYC's project list:

https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bic...allsched.shtml

Roody

Most roads are planned, designed and funded at the county/city level, so it's appropriate to have decisions made about the design of streets at that local level. Lansing, Mich. advocates got 5,000 signatures on a petition for a Complete the Streets initiative. This initiative calls for (but does not require) future street projects to put a percentage into modifications for non-motorized transport.

I agree that proposals like this are a more appropriate use of govt. funds than a Cash For Clunkers rebate--whether the rebate is for cars or bicycles.

Doohickie

Cyclists save money through lack of insurance, fuel & maintenance. They don't need it.

donrhummy

That would be fantastic! I could finally get that ridiculously expensive Cervelo or Look bike I always wanted! Of course, I'd have to buy a clunker first (as I'm car-free). Maybe I'll go visit the junkyard and pick up a crap car for $200, and trade it in for a Look 595!

jdmitch

Heck yes, I'd trade in my Blazer for $4500 towards a bike. I'd probably do some sort of bike-minivan (Tricked our CETMA or Joe Bike...)