Cycle to Work Scheme

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

Want to get fit, then why not cycle to work under the Government Cycle to Work initiative.

 

You need to be employed, be a tax payer PAYE, and your employer must register under the schemes.

You will make a substantial saving on both a new cycle, and equipment, which is paid back monthly by salary sacrifice, and is free of interest. www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/salary_sacrifice.pdf

This is a link to more general information

Department for Transport - Cycle to Work Scheme implementation guidance

 

Andy

Edited September 24, 2008 by old_andrew2007

[robin9342]

Your second link does not work. I think this is the one:

Department for Transport - Cycle to Work Scheme implementation guidance

[gyzmo]

I done this a while back - well worth it. got two top class mountain bikes dirt cheap and no interest and no tax.

[jo5ephedward5]

same here - i've just paid my last payment

 

£1000 scott bike has cost me under £600 in total - very happy...i heard they are bringing in the possibility to 'topup' after you have paid it off in order to buy accessories - now this would be useful as the new fox forks i want are £600...would be nearer £350 on the cycle to work...

[zazen.warrior]

I used to cycle into work daily, and for many years in all weathers until I got knocked off my bicycle by someone in a stationary vehicle who threw open their car door just in time for me to smack into it.

 

Their excuse: ‘I looked in the mirror but couldn’t see you because the sun was dazzling me, but I opened the door anyway…’

 

The same individual came over to me whilst I was lying in the road, looked down at my sprawling form and said ‘It’s alright I’m insured’

 

Okay the compensation paid for a new state of the art (at the time) computer but it took three years to get and I haven’t cycled since.

 

I could have been killed.

 

Sorry to put the dampers on this but a cyclist is very vulnerable to other road users.

 

If there was a system of safe, car free cycle tracks I would get back on my bike today!

[Zamzara]

If there was a system of safe, car free cycle tracks I would get back on my bike today!

 

And free of suicidal pedestrians, and out of control dogs.

[Lula]

we have miles of cycle tracks here in stevenage, and please dont make this a session to bedevil pedestrians! The pavements are for pedestrians, I walk my son to school and back every day, the amount of times that we have been run into, run up the back of and generally abused by cyclists is terrible.

 

And when I am in my car, on the road that I pay road tax to use, cyclists should themselves be a bit more careful, there are blind spots and cyclists are all too fond of just swinging out into the road or ignoring the traffic signals or rules of the road and doing as they please.

[zazen.warrior]

I had an earlier episode on a cycle track whereby a motorist shot out across the track and pushed me out into the main (very busy) road.

 

And where was this person leaving in such a tearing hurry… an opticians!

 

This was the incident which nearly stopped me cycling, the one above did.

[Lula]

Well here in Stevenage, the cycle tracks are totally separate from the roads so no motorists on them at all

[Zamzara]

I totally agree Lula, some cyclists are appalling too.

[gyzmo]

I hear this argment constantly. People seem to forget that it is not a case of cyclists / motorists / pedestrians being good or bad. The common denominator is....PEOPLE!!!

 

I do wish that the cyclists v motorists v pedestrians wouldstop as it distracts away from the issue that it is people who use the roads and therefore people who are accountable. That way we may see that the main cause of accidents is lack of respect for other people and an unwillingness / inability to comply with road laws.

[Tezcatlipoca]

I hear this argment constantly. People seem to forget that it is not a case of cyclists / motorists / pedestrians being good or bad. The common denominator is....PEOPLE!!!

 

Those who have seen my thread in the Bear Garden will know that this is something of a relevant topic for me at the moment.

 

I have to say that whilst I largely agree with Gyzmo, I think there are other factors beyond simple inability/ignorance to be a courteous road user.

My own accident, for example, occurred on my way to work; a route I obviously take every weekday and have for a long time. I don't actually have any recollection of the accident itself, but I can say with certainty that the route is so well known to me that I do it on automatic pilot, which makes me less alert to what is happening around me.

Car drivers following familiar routes, I assume, experience the same, and that reduced alertness increases the chances of accidents.

 

Personally, as a cyclist, I have to say that I've always found car drivers extremely careful, recent events notwithstanding, and I do what I can to be a safe and courteous road user in response. At the same time, I do confess to issuing the occasional low muttering in the direction of pedestrians who appear to labour under the impression that a cycle lane is an extra wide, free walkway. Such thinking is tribal (a kind of 'us and them' mentality), and distinctly human.

 

Of course there are ignorant and/or arrogant road users out there (it is a sad fact that many car drivers flee the scene of accidents, especially with cyclists and pedestrians), but I think there are equally a great many who might otherwise be careful people who simply make a mistake or have a lapse of concentration.

 

Ultimately, it is up to each of us, regardless of our method of transportation, to make the effort to be as careful and considerate as we can. Accidents will always happen, but hopefully a little more thought and awareness will help to reduce the chances of incidents for everyone.

Edited October 21, 2008 by Tezcatlipoca

[gyzmo]

But the point here is this (and I apologise for going off topic) - an issue I have raised before.

 

When we use terms such as "car driver", "cyclist" we are attaching labels to people. When one says "I find car driver generally considerable", are we suggesting that as non-car drivers they are not considerable?

 

the elements that I see in the arguments of one group of road users against anotehr is simply that it is people not doing as they should. By using the labels I mentioned, it is as though we are creating a sub-species of humanity that is absolved from the normal requirements we come to expect (or hope to) from each other.

 

By saying "motorists do this" and "cyclists do that" etc etc we are simply removing the main cause - people. As a cyclist, I can attest to my fear of using the roads of manchester. I can do the same as a driver (L) and as a pedestrian.

 

In fact, if we look at the proposed congestion charge for Manchester (which will happen regardless of any ballot) the same can be applied.

 

Go through Cheetham Hill, Rochdale Road, Oxford Road, the Curry Mile - four main roads in Manchester, and you will see congestion. You will also see that the majority of this congestion is caused by poor road discipline. Vehicles halfway across junctions locking off lanes, other vehicles doing u-turns when they should not be. People on main roads blocking off side roads in queuesof traffic.

 

It only takes one "parked" (go down cheetham hill and observe how many cars "parked" outside are displaying their "broke down" lights to see what I mean) car on a busy dual carriage way to practically block off two whole lanes.

 

There endeth my sermon, but I only preach the truth!

[Tezcatlipoca]

When we use terms such as "car driver", "cyclist" we are attaching labels to people. When one says "I find car driver generally considerable", are we suggesting that as non-car drivers they are not considerable?

 

Hmmm..I suspect you're reading rather more into such classifications than are either meant or intended.

 

When I say that I find car drivers generally considerate (just as – I suspect – when you make frequent reference to the behaviour of ‘vehicles’ in your own post), it is not so much through a desire to compartmentalise drivers and further suggest they all follow a set behavioural pattern, so much as stating the simple fact that as a cyclist I chiefly share the road with those who drive cars, and, regardless of any classification or judgement of those drivers, I simply find the vast majority of them as people considerate. Of course there are exceptions, but then there are exceptions regardless of your chosen means of locomotion. This observation has nothing to do with said means, but with road users as individuals.

 

To return to the topic as started by the OP, and setting aside my recent medical history, I’m a huge advocate of cycling, and would be gratified to see more people taking it up as a means of transport. It’s certainly a healthier option, and whilst I can’t speak for other urban centres, where I live (Brighton), the council have made the road systems so unfriendly to drivers that I can generally make it across the city in less time on a bicycle than in a car.

[gyzmo]

I would agree - if there were more downhills than uphills:D

[Tezcatlipoca]

I would agree - if there were more downhills than uphills:D

 

In the case of Brighton & Hove, the council road planning department seem to have been inspired by the Widow Winchester house. They have insane one way systems that loop round on themselves, diversions that go nowhere, and so on. And thats before you factor in the traffic conjestion as well.

 

At the same time, they've laid cycle lanes pretty much everywhere, so I get a direct, almost invariably clear, route to my destination.

I must admit, rare as it is to see B&H Council getting anything right, they have catered very well for cyclists in the city.

[Bookworm]

observe how many cars "parked" outside are displaying their "broke down" lights to see what I mean

Taking the thread even more OT (sorry!), but you just hit a rant spot of mine here.

 

Waiting to park the other day and therefore, as taught many moons ago, sitting patiently with my indicator on whilst waiting for the car in the parking place to leave, then putting my reverse gear (indicator still on, of course), I was then overtaken by 1/2 a dozen cars all swerving wildly into the lane coming across (whatever happened to "wait until other car has completed maneuvre?" ), which was bad enough, but then one of them yelled at me: "Put your bloody hazards on!!!"

 

I obviously must have missed the section of the Highway Code relating to acceptable use of hazards lights .

[The GodMother]

I will tell u one thing i will start cycling again just when the cars stop using the cycle paths/lanes as there propert to get round the ever increasing amount of congestion due to more F*&^%$£ road works in Great Yarmouth. Oh and when the bus drivers learn to look b4 they attempt to kill ppl.