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Cyclists in Harare (CC licensed by Carrie Cizauskas via Flickr).jpgZimbabwe introduces bicycle licensing... 12 months' jail for those who don't pay
Zimbabwe is to impose a new mandatory bicycle fee. ZimNews.net reports that failure to pay will see a cyclist lose their bike and potentially face 12 months imprisonment.
The new system is to be tested out in Harare before being rolled out to the rest of the country. The licence must be renewed annually.
The new rules states: “No person shall use any road within the council area without paying the required fees and any cycle which is ordinarily kept within the area will be considered illegal unless it has been licensed in terms of these by-laws.”
ZimNews quotes an anonymous government official who explained: “Authorities fear a lot of resistance to this move so they will test people’s tolerance in the combative city of Harare. If it is accepted there, then the rest of the country will get it as well.”
Zimbabwe is not the first place to implement bicycle registration, but in almost all cases administration of the scheme has cost more than the income.
BikeBiz gives the example of Switzerland where the CHF-5-10 ‘Velo Vignette’ licence was a means of getting cyclists to purchase third-party liability insurance as well as being a registration scheme. In 2010 Swiss parliament abolished the licences due to the cost.
Similarly, Chicago Mag lists a whole series of US cities where bike licences have been introduced and subsequently deemed too costly to manage.
Honolulu is named as an exception. There, a one-time $15 registration is required and it then costs $5 to transfer the licence to someone else. The system reportedly brings in $400,000-$500,000 a year, but all money raised is ring-fenced for infrastructure or other cycling programmes. The system is made simpler by the fact that the fee is paid at the point of sale. The fact that Honolulu is located on a relatively small island also makes the system easier to control.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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12 comments
It's only a matter time before it happens elsewhere too.
I have my license but it became crummy in my jacket pocket.
Surely, if the same rules are applied to bikes that are applied to cars, the licence will be free due to the low emissions of bikes. There are many cars which have a free licence (VED) due to their low emissions.
Personally I think this is a fantastic idea. Now if someone comes up with the "cyclists should have licences" line. We can respectfully offer them a country to which they can relocate and live in a society that implements their values.
What we need are dimension channel changers, so we can pop over to Earth 2, 3 etc and find one that developed rationally. Wish someone would Kickstart that instead of Bluetooth Saddle Bag.
yes please!
has someone been reading the "Long Earth" series?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Earth-ebook/dp/B0073E4FTI
I suspect he's been reading DC Comics (Superman et al)
Not a DC or Practchett guy sorry!
Doing the last part of Three Body Problem at the moment, 'Death's End'.
Zimbabwe does not have the administrative capacity to introduce such a system and, even if it did, there's zero chance that any fees collected would reach the government.
UK is safe from such nonsense - for now.
Actually wouldn't be surprised if it came here too. We're living in a resurgence of right-wing populism and this would be a vote winner for any party. Sure you'd have us tree huggers whining about it, but our votes aren't worth much in most constituencies.
What we need are dimension channel changers, so we can pop over to Earth 2, 3 etc and find one that developed rationally. Wish someone would Kickstart that instead of Bluetooth Saddle Bag.
I would gladly pay for a licence but will obviously expect to be protected and respected by fellow road users. I think it will be a non starter on both counts
Seeing the way politics is going in this country, we may end up with a similar scheme over here!
Hopefully if they introduce it here, they will also scrap VED and tax cars the appropriate amount to pay for the roads!
It's revenue-negative if you're doing it right. As a way to give cops and local politicians an extra Christmas "bonus" it probably hits the spot.