The idea of registering bicycles comes up regularly. Why should cyclists not pay their share of the infrastructure they use, while motorists must pay a gas tax, registration fees and their driving license? some wonder. This practice has long been common in several Quebec cities, but is no longer popular.
On social networks, the idea of imposing a kilometer tax or any other new pricing on motorists inevitably provokes comments on the “plates” for bicycles. “To be able to ride on the expensive bike paths of Montreal, it would be good to have a plate screwed on the bike and to pay a fair contribution, say $100 per year”, suggested a surfer on Twitter there. a few months old.
Several Quebec cities, including Montreal, have already had a registration system, but the measure has been abandoned in many places. However, this option is mentioned from time to time. In 1992, the administration of Jean Doré had also considered reinstating a registration system with demerit points for cyclists. The project never materialized.
The municipality of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is one of the Quebec cities that have abandoned the mandatory registration of bicycles. Since 2015, however, the City has offered a $10 sticker to those who want it. “Some paid a good amount for their bike. It gives them security that their bike is registered in the event of theft,” explains Lynn Hainault, collection clerk at the City of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
But since the vignette is permanently linked to the bicycle, in many cases the bicycles have time to change hands several times over the years. It then becomes difficult to find the owners, she admits.
Infrastructure financing
At Vélo Québec, we believe that claiming that cyclists do not pay for cycling or road infrastructure is a myth. Like all citizens, cyclists pay taxes and municipal taxes, recalls Magali Bebronne, program director at Vélo Québec. Many of these cyclists also have a driver’s license and even a car, so incur registration fees.
“Local streets, which are the main infrastructure used by cyclists, are financed by property taxes. Every person who lives in a city, whether they own or rent, pays for local streets,” says Ms.me Bebronne.
As for roads and highways, which come under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, they are generally less frequented by cyclists. In 2017, a study carried out by Trajectoire Québec and the David Suzuki Foundation pointed out that motorists paid about a third of the costs related to roads, another third was assumed by the transport of goods and the last third by all Quebec taxpayers.
By the way, should we ask pedestrians to pay for the use of sidewalks?
“When we look at all this, we can wonder if there is really a reason to ask cyclists to pay more, underlines Magali Bebronne. By the way, should we ask pedestrians to pay for the use of sidewalks? […] If we really had to apply the user-pay principle, the motorist would not come out a winner at all. »
It also specifies that registration and driving license fees serve essentially to feed the Insurance Fund to compensate victims of road accidents, and not to finance the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure.
Discipline cyclists
Lecturer at the University of Montreal and expert in transportation planning, Pierre Barrieau does not see the issue the same way. Establishing a registration system could be beneficial by making cyclists who are too reckless responsible. “There is a reflection to be had. Registration would contribute to reducing the delinquency of cycling behavior. It’s less a tax issue than a matter of responsibility and compliance with the Highway Safety Code,” he says.
According to him, this measure could initially apply to new bicycles and remain optional for existing bicycles. The management of such a system could be entrusted to Vélo Québec, he suggests.
This argument does not convince Vélo Québec. “It’s a bazooka. The police have no problem issuing statements of offense to bicycles, ”says Magali Bebronne.
Countering bicycle theft
Pierre Barrieau is also of the opinion that a registration system would have the advantage of curbing the theft and concealment of bicycles. According to him, the official statistics on bicycle theft do not reflect reality. “We know that the majority of stolen bicycles are not declared to the police. The data is imprecise, but we know that reported cases are increasing,” he says.
Vélo Québec also brushes aside this argument. Several Quebec police services, including the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), have joined Garage 529, an application developed in Seattle that allows bicycle owners to register information and photos of their bikes online. as well as putting a sticker on their bike. This system has proven itself, says Magali Bebronne. The City of Vancouver maintains that since it implemented this system in 2015, bicycle theft has decreased by 40% in its territory.
The SPVM, which joined the application two years ago, now has nearly 16,000 registrations. However, it was not possible to know what assessment the police department made of this system until now.
If Pierre Barrieau considers that the implementation of a registration system could be done at a reasonable cost, this is not what several municipalities that have experimented with it have observed. In 1981, Victoriaville abolished the bicycle registration by-law because, it found, enforcing it cost more than it brought in.
Toronto came to the same conclusion. On several occasions over the past decades, the return of bicycle registrations has been debated, but this option has been rejected. In many cases, the cost of registration would have exceeded the value of the bike itself, it was concluded.
In Montreal, a registration system for bicycles is not envisaged. “Road users who travel actively also pay taxes that are used to maintain the streets, while registration covers car insurance,” said Marianne Giguère, associate advisor in an email. active transportation to the executive committee. “It has also been shown that people who travel by bicycle or on foot are already bringing in money for society, in terms of the environment and health, for example. »