On your e-bike! Tax breaks on way for electric cyclists?
CyClists could be offered subsidies in a Government push to get people on their bike – but only if it’s electric.
Electric bikes, or ‘e-bikes’, have a small electric motor that can provide a boost to help cyclists get up hills.
they are becoming increasingly popular with novice or older cyclists who struggle to complete arduous journeys with pedal power alone.
Roads Minister Jesse Norman suggested providing tax breaks for e-bikes could encourage more people to cycle, helping tackle concerns about pollution and Britons’ lack of exercise.
But like electric cars, e-bikes can be prohibitively expensive.
Most advertised on the Halfords website cost more than £1,000, with some costing upwards of £3,000.
those buying an electric car can receive up to £4,500 off the purchase price through a Government subsidy scheme, which has contributed to a surge in sales.
yesterday, Mr Norman said the Government had been considering offering a separate subsidy scheme for e-bikes.
‘We’ve done some work on that already, and i haven’t looked at the outcomes yet ... there’s a case in principle,’ he told the Guardian. He added that there was a ‘tremendous opportunity’ for firms to use e-bikes rather than vans to deliver lighter packages.
He said: ‘if you think in terms of local deliveries, a lot of these Amazon deliveries are lighter things – you don’t need a transit van to be doing that.
‘i think e-bikes and e-bikes-plus are a really interesting potential way of handling that last mile or two of deliveries.’
A bike qualifies as an e-bike if it has pedals, the electric motor provides no assistance when the bike is travelling at more than 15.5mph and the power does not exceed 200 watts.
AA spokesman luke Bosdet said subsidised e-bikes would make sense to many people seeking to cut costs.
‘this is one way drivers could avoid rip-off prices at the fuel stations,’ he added.
Mr Norman also said he was ‘not ruling out’ the idea of the Government increasing pressure on councils to do more for cyclists, and introducing national standards for bike lanes.
some MPs and road campaigners have criticised the decision by councils to build more cycle lanes, arguing it has increased congestion by giving less space for cars.
these ideas have been dismissed by cycling groups, which argue the cycling lanes have cut traffic.