Sustainability is a concept that has become more popular in the last few years. And no wonder why. Climate change is here and there are many ways we can combat it. One of those is reducing car use by going to places by bike.
In fact, did you know that in the Netherlands, there are more bikes than people? This is because people in the Netherlands use bikes for almost half of all trips they have to make, especially when it comes between home and work.
So the government came up with a great idea: they pay the Netherlands citizens every time they use their bikes to go to work. And the results are just amazing. Keep reading to find out more.
According to the Netherlands government, “more than half of all trips by car are less than 7.5 kilometers. Most people would find this acceptable pedaling distance. The popular electric bike also makes longer-distance cycling an option.”
It is true that the country is almost completely flat, encouraging people to get on their bikes. However, the efforts of the government have paid off. They have extended the bike lanes to keep cyclists safe from traffic. And of course, the idea of giving Dutch cyclists a tax credit.
Each kilometer traveled by bike could earn a cyclist a few tax-free among, which is paid directly into their payment package.
But that’s not all. As a matter of fact, Dutch cyclists are able to make more money just by commuting between home and work.
“If more people chose to cycle to and from work, it would reduce the number of crashes during peak hours,” is one of the many reasons found in the governmental site.
For this reason, the government has even built bicycle highways not only within the cities but between cities and it has also established cycling routes. The government is encouraging other regional authorities to provide facilities for cyclists.
“Employers can pay cyclists a mileage allowance of up to 0.19 euros (US$ 0.22) per kilometer traveled.”
There’s no doubt this is a great idea that should be applied in other countries, don’t you think so?
