Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease: Update!

Why Bikes are Best!

The bicycle is the most efficient vehicle ever devised; a human on a bicycle is more efficient (in calories expended per pound and per mile) than a train, truck, airplane, boat, car, motorcycle or jet pack.

Nearly half of all trips in the North America are three miles or less; more than a quarter are less than a mile, distances easily covered by bike while saving you money and getting you fit.

Every mile traveled by bike rather than by car keeps one pound of climate-damaging carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, while reducing cash draining stops at the pump.

Bicycles outnumber automobiles almost two to one worldwide, and their production outpaces cars by three to one.

Of all the trips in the North America, just two-thirds of a percent are made by bicycle.

Only 1 percent of Canadian commuters report bicycling as their usual mode of transportation.

The average car produces about five tons of carbon dioxide per year. In the US, cars were the source of about one-third of global warming pollution in 2005.

If Americans replaced just one in five of their average length car trips by bicycling, each driver would spare the atmosphere more than one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Collectively, the effect would be comparable to taking 48 million vehicles off the road.

Short car trips are the easiest to replace with a bike trip. Mile for mile, they are also the most polluting.

For each mile of new lane, the materials and machinery used to build a highway release between 1,400 and 2,300 tons of greenhouse gases.

Among major U.S. cities, those with extensive bicycle lanes have three times the rate of bike commuting compared to other cities.

Bike-friendly policies, from traffic calming to car free downtown zones, have boosted cycling rates in five European nations to 10 percent or more of urban trips; one-fifth of all trips in Danish cities are made by bike, and one-third in Dutch cities.

It costs as much as twenty times more to support a passenger mile of automobile traffic compared to one of bicycle traffic.

In the long run, the measures most crucial to getting more people on their feet and on their bikes are those that fight sprawl and encourage dense, livable cities. On average, city dwellers drive a third as much and half as fast as suburbanites.

Source: the "bicycle" chapter of Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet

March 1, 2010.

Hi,

The bike rally is this Wednesday at noon at the Legislature. Here is one last update for you.

Petition

The petition has spiked again and is now at over 4600! Thanks to everyone for helping make this so successful.

If you are still collecting hard-copies, make sure to email (lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca) or fax (250.479.4176) them in by 12 pm on Tuesday March 2. That is the deadline for the petition. I will present it to the Legislature on Wednesday afternoon.

Rally

Almost 300 people have RSVP’d on Facebook so we are expecting a great turnout. Rain or shine! We’ve got a super line-up of speakers. This is an important moment to celebrate cycling and to let the government know what we think of their plan to hike taxes on bikes. Don’t miss it!

(If you are in Nanaimo, there is a connected event happening this Wednesday at 4pm at the corner of Comox and Terminal. Details on Facebook.)

Do you want to attend Question Period? I’ve reserved twelve seats for people who want to stick around for QP. It is definitely something worth experiencing and it should be quite charged as the Budget is being introduced tomorrow. Email me by Tuesday at 3 pm if you want a ticket. I’ll need your full name and you’ll need to bring ID and be ready to go by 1:30 pm on Wednesday. (QP starts around 2 pm.)

Rationale

A few people have asked me why I am pushing on this issue so hard when there are many other equally good reasons to oppose the HST.

It is true that for me and many people, the first objection is one of principle: the B.C. Liberals promised during the recent election campaign that they would not introduce an HST. Once in power they quickly announced it as fait accompli. We must call them on this broken promise.

But this HST is also an assault on green initiatives. As an environmentalist, that is something that I have to speak out about. The bike issue is simply an excellent example of what is wrong with the HST. Also, I`m an avid cyclist myself so this issue is close to my heart. Further, this effort fits in very well with the larger anti-HST campaign. Finally, many people in Saanich South brought this issue to me and asked me to act on it.

For almost thirty years, bikes (and bike expenses like repairs, helmets and locks) have been PST exempt. Why? Because successive governments, agreed it made no sense to tax such a healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transportation.

In fact, it was Hugh Curtis, a Socred Finance Minister who first made this decision. In a Budget Speech in 1981, he said that cycling would be PST exempt because “it is consistent with a healthier, quieter and more energy-efficient society.”

This rationale has only become stronger over time as we’ve learned more about the benefits of healthy living and the importance of reducing our carbon emissions. The more we can encourage people to ride bikes rather than drive cars, the better it is for everyone. It means less traffic congestion, less wear and tear on our roads and potentially lower health-care costs.

I wonder if the B.C. government can explain how jacking up the price of a bike is going to help make B.C. more sustainable or encourage people to make healthy lifestyle choices. How does this possibly advance B.C.’s Climate Action Plan?

A government that increases taxes on green transportation is traveling in the wrong direction.

I am of the view that we need to create incentives for green transportation and disincentives for more polluting forms of transportation. Standing up for cyclists as an Opposition MLA is one way that I can help keep the pressure on.

What is Next?

The drive to stop the HST is just ramping up. The fighthst.com campaign is at the forefront and I will be supporting their efforts.

In terms of cycling, my petition and the rally are just the beginning. In the process of organizing these efforts, I’ve created a new BC network with thousands of cyclists and hundreds of bike stores and cycling coalitions.

We are a potent province-wide constituency that includes people from all walks of life and a range of political views.

I won’t stop until we are successful in making the BC government bike-friendly again.

Squeaky wheels get the grease!

Thanks so much for your support,

Lana

Lana Popham, MLA Saanich South

250.479.4154

lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca

www.squeakywheels.ca

www.saanichsouth.ca

Update

Thank you for visiting squeakywheels.ca! I created this website to bring together cyclists from across BC who wanted to voice their opposition to the government’s decision to impose a new tax on cycling.

For almost thirty years, bikes (and bike expenses like repairs, helmets and locks) have been PST exempt. Why? Because successfive governments agreed it made no sense to tax such a healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transportation.

A government that increases taxes on green transportation is traveling in the wrong direction.

While we were unsuccessful in stopping the government from imposing the HST (on bicycles) we were part of a larger movement that has successfully kept alive the opposition to the HST.

Cyclists continue to argue that tax increases on green transportation options - like cycling - are a mistake. We are calling for provincial policy changes which will create incentives for people to choose greener ways to travel.

I will continue to make these arguments in and outside of the BC Legislature and I welcome your input and support.

Lana Popham

MLA Saanich South

lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca

Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease

Here's the bike rally route, 11am-1pm, Thurs 7 July 2011

Rally at the Legislature

Lana Popham's Twitter Feed

Why Bikes are Best!

The petition is now closed.

Check out the Petition Comments

Update!

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