flaps Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaps Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Ballakermeen is a good place to start, as it's in a residential area where there are problems with school run traffic. More kids on bikes or walking will be less 4x4's clogging up the streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 16 minutes ago, flaps said: No. I thought there was a "ride to work" scheme or whatever title they gave it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaps Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Yes, the government would pay for your new bike up front, then take the money out of your wages. So it was a loan, not a free bike or discount or anything like that. Technically, as your pay was docked before tax, you'd pay slightly less tax on your salary. In short, it wasn't worth the paperwork. At the end of the day, cost is not a barrier to cycling, as a decent enough bike for commuting a couple of miles can be picked up for £50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 36 minutes ago, flaps said: Ballakermeen is a good place to start, as it's in a residential area where there are problems with school run traffic. More kids on bikes or walking will be less 4x4's clogging up the streets. but iomg already employ a team...... what are they going to be doing now....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 57 minutes ago, flaps said: Ballakermeen is a good place to start, as it's in a residential area where there are problems with school run traffic. More kids on bikes or walking will be less 4x4's clogging up the streets. .dear, dear, you do have a fetish about 4x4s........please be more specific and maybe use the term lifestyle vehicles, 4x4 covers a massive range of vehicles including most of the farm vehicles........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 1 hour ago, flaps said: Yes, the government would pay for your new bike up front, then take the money out of your wages. So it was a loan, not a free bike or discount or anything like that. Technically, as your pay was docked before tax, you'd pay slightly less tax on your salary. In short, it wasn't worth the paperwork. At the end of the day, cost is not a barrier to cycling, as a decent enough bike for commuting a couple of miles can be picked up for £50. £50... you'd be lucky to get a decent saddle for that amount let alone the rest of the bloody bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 1 hour ago, flaps said: Yes, the government would pay for your new bike up front, then take the money out of your wages. So it was a loan, not a free bike or discount or anything like that. Technically, as your pay was docked before tax, you'd pay slightly less tax on your salary. In short, it wasn't worth the paperwork. At the end of the day, cost is not a barrier to cycling, as a decent enough bike for commuting a couple of miles can be picked up for £50. It actually is. You get quite a good discount off a new bike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 2 hours ago, TheTeapot said: Didn't they already try something with them though by offering huge amounts of money off new bikes a couple of years ago? Well I don't really consider giving civil servants a 30% discount (at least) on bikes to be 'picking on'. You're thinking of the Cycle to Work Scheme which was modified in the 2018 Budget and is promoted by various bike retailers. We know that 101 government workers used it in the first year of operation, though when someone made an FoI Request of the Cabinet Office about how many non-government employees had used it, they were told to ask the Treasury. What I find really odd is that if you look at the Active Travel Strategy 2018 - 2021, which this latest 'initiative' is based on, there doesn't seem to any mention of this scheme. You'd think they would be looking at how it worked or didn't, or at least be bragging about how good they were (though it's basically a copy of a UK idea). As usual the only lesson that is learned is that no lessons need to be learned - good or bad. Actually the whole document is a bit dodgy. It says (p 5): Quote Having considered evidence gathered from the 2011 Census and the 2016 and 2017 Social Attitudes Surveys, the Department [of Infrastructure] is hoping to achieve an increase in the number of people travelling actively to work to 20% by 2020 as an initial target, and thereafter, aim to see an increase of 10% from the 2011 Census baseline in the total number of active travel journeys per year But it doesn't really define an 'active' journey (is walking 50 yards because you live near work? is walking a mile to catch a bus?). Presumably the baseline is derived from Question 20 in the 2011 Census (here in fairly unreadable form), but the details don't seem to have been published. But if you look at the Isle of Man Social Attitudes Survey 2017, where they also asked the question (and is linked to in the Strategy), it appears that the 20% target has already been reached just by those who walk daily to work (there are few who cycle to work and the number fell). So the Government are spending 3 million to achieve something that has already happened. Which at least guarantees success - trebles all round no doubt. As to why this might have happened the answer may be in the 2016 Social Attitudes: Quote Analysis of the responses by JSNA quartile (where 1 is the most deprived and 4 is the least) showed that those in quartile 1 were most likely to walk to work. It also had the lowest proportions of individuals travelling to work alone by car. The graph below shows how the likelihood of travelling by car (be that alone or car sharing) increases as income deprivation (as defined by the JSNA quartile) reduces. So the way to encourage healthier travel seems to be to make people poorer. Another easy target for the Government to aim at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhtred Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 A sound idea. Let’s regress to 1935; everyone walked or cycled to work and there were no fatties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 41 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said: Well I don't really consider giving civil servants a 30% discount (at least) on bikes to be 'picking on'. You're thinking of the Cycle to Work Scheme which was modified in the 2018 Budget and is promoted by various bike retailers. We know that 101 government workers used it in the first year of operation, though when someone made an FoI Request of the Cabinet Office about how many non-government employees had used it, they were told to ask the Treasury. What I find really odd is that if you look at the Active Travel Strategy 2018 - 2021, which this latest 'initiative' is based on, there doesn't seem to any mention of this scheme. You'd think they would be looking at how it worked or didn't, or at least be bragging about how good they were (though it's basically a copy of a UK idea). As usual the only lesson that is learned is that no lessons need to be learned - good or bad. Actually the whole document is a bit dodgy. It says (p 5): But it doesn't really define an 'active' journey (is walking 50 yards because you live near work? is walking a mile to catch a bus?). Presumably the baseline is derived from Question 20 in the 2011 Census (here in fairly unreadable form), but the details don't seem to have been published. But if you look at the Isle of Man Social Attitudes Survey 2017, where they also asked the question (and is linked to in the Strategy), it appears that the 20% target has already been reached just by those who walk daily to work (there are few who cycle to work and the number fell). So the Government are spending 3 million to achieve something that has already happened. Which at least guarantees success - trebles all round no doubt. As to why this might have happened the answer may be in the 2016 Social Attitudes: So the way to encourage healthier travel seems to be to make people poorer. Another easy target for the Government to aim at. They've already ticked that box Roger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevster Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 2 hours ago, Roger Mexico said: Minister for Education, Sport and Culture Graham Cregeen MHK said: ‘I’m pleased that trials are set to take place here at Ballakermeen in relation to crossings, better signage and improved bike facilities. In addition, Sustrans will be working with us to reduce traffic issues at drop-off and pick-up times. Looks like the 'Safe Routes to School' project I worked on for them which was commissioned by Berkshire Council. I nearly got arrested when spotted 'acting suspiciously' around the grounds of a girls school - I was actually checking and photographing the access points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, kevster said: Looks like the 'Safe Routes to School' project I worked on for them which was commissioned by Berkshire Council. I nearly got arrested when spotted 'acting suspiciously' around the grounds of a girls school - I was actually checking and photographing the access points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Colombe Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 12 minutes ago, kevster said: I was actually checking and photographing the access points. I bet you were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 44 minutes ago, Uhtred said: A sound idea. Let’s regress to 1935; everyone walked or cycled to work and there were no fatties. better ban benefits first...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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