France extends financial grants to buy a bicycle
Cycling organisations in France have welcomed news that the government has extended bike-buying grants in order to encourage people to cycle more.
The government has announced that it will increase the maximum available grant to €2,000 and the keep the scheme running until December 31st.
In total, the extended scheme is expected to cost €5 million.
"France is once again becoming a country of bicycles," a spokesperson for the Union sport et cycle said after the announcement that the maximum amount that could be reclaimed to buy a new electric bicycle rose to €400 for those on the lowest incomes, or those with disabilities.
Previously capped at €200, the electric bike bonus has risen to €300 for anyone with a taxable income of €6,300 to €13,489, or €400 for those with a taxable income of less than €6,300 and those with a disability.
"It's obviously going in the right direction, even if there are a lot of conditions,” Union sport et cycle told Franceinfo. One of those conditions is that the new owner cannot sell the cycle for a year, and the offer is only available once.
Under the extended scheme, financial incentives to buy electrically-assisted cargo bikes increases to €2,000 from €1,000 previously, while aid to buy folding cycles also rises to a maximum of €1,000.
The scheme includes traditional cycles - with means-tested aid fixed to 40 percent of the cost of the cycle, up to a ceiling of €150.
Find full details of the grants available here.
Unlike previous government efforts to get people cycling more, this latest scheme does not require equivalent support from a local authority, which had meant that people living in smaller towns and villages had been excluded.
The Fédération française des usagers de la bicyclette said it, "welcomes these first emergency measures taken at the start of this mandate [...] which will help reduce household mobility expenses and help the most vulnerable families."
The association, which campaigns for a continuous network of cycle paths in France, added: "the end of dependence on the car must become a priority with means equivalent to the provisions emergency support attributed to the purchasing power of motorists."
Many local authorities, especially those in cities, have been extending cycle paths in order to encourage people to cycle more.
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The government has announced that it will increase the maximum available grant to €2,000 and the keep the scheme running until December 31st.
In total, the extended scheme is expected to cost €5 million.
"France is once again becoming a country of bicycles," a spokesperson for the Union sport et cycle said after the announcement that the maximum amount that could be reclaimed to buy a new electric bicycle rose to €400 for those on the lowest incomes, or those with disabilities.
Previously capped at €200, the electric bike bonus has risen to €300 for anyone with a taxable income of €6,300 to €13,489, or €400 for those with a taxable income of less than €6,300 and those with a disability.
"It's obviously going in the right direction, even if there are a lot of conditions,” Union sport et cycle told Franceinfo. One of those conditions is that the new owner cannot sell the cycle for a year, and the offer is only available once.
Under the extended scheme, financial incentives to buy electrically-assisted cargo bikes increases to €2,000 from €1,000 previously, while aid to buy folding cycles also rises to a maximum of €1,000.
The scheme includes traditional cycles - with means-tested aid fixed to 40 percent of the cost of the cycle, up to a ceiling of €150.
Find full details of the grants available here.
Unlike previous government efforts to get people cycling more, this latest scheme does not require equivalent support from a local authority, which had meant that people living in smaller towns and villages had been excluded.
The Fédération française des usagers de la bicyclette said it, "welcomes these first emergency measures taken at the start of this mandate [...] which will help reduce household mobility expenses and help the most vulnerable families."
The association, which campaigns for a continuous network of cycle paths in France, added: "the end of dependence on the car must become a priority with means equivalent to the provisions emergency support attributed to the purchasing power of motorists."
Many local authorities, especially those in cities, have been extending cycle paths in order to encourage people to cycle more.
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