Backing the “No To The Bike Parking Tax” campaign – Still Carrying on!
Right To Ride is backing the “No To The Bike Parking Tax” campaign.
The campaign is a non-political action group representing motorcyclists and scooterists who object to illegitimate introduction of parking levies by Westminster City Council and any other authorities.
As the “No To The Bike Parking Tax” campaign says:
“We must consider the far-wider concern of what non-action against this experimental traffic order will have on the parking strategies of all other Councils in the whole land.”
Or for Northern Ireland our Government and it’s agencies.
View Videos of Demos – Read about the Campaign – Show your Support – Receive Campaign News.
Videos on You Tube Click Here
“No To The Bike Parking Tax” – What The Campaigns About
We must consider the far-wider concern of what non-action against this experimental traffic order will have on the parking strategies of all other Councils in the whole land.
We plan on organising regular protests on the streets of London, protests with purpose.
Answering Our Critics
The main criticism apparently being levelled at our opposition to this scheme is that of: “Car drivers have to pay, so why shouldn’t bikes?”, to which our response is:
- There is a severe shortage of car parking spaces – the small area taken up by a motorcycle is a very efficient use of roadside. At least 8 bikes can be parked in the same space leaving potentially 7 car spaces unused – this should be encouraged and not taxed.
- PTWs (Powered Two Wheelers) reduce the overall congestion in a city and so their use should be promoted and not discouraged with an immoral levy.
- Motorcyclists are a hardy bunch travelling exposed to the elements and at higher risk of injury than 4 wheel road users. Ask critics if they would consider changing to 2 wheels and you are likely to get a negative response. We are a hardy bunch.
Our Mission
The total withdrawal of all parking taxes levied on motorcyclists and scooterists and a full refund of all fees paid to date by riders who had no other option but to pay them.
We further wish to inform riders that this crazy tax is only an EXPERIMENT and that all can contribute their objection to a review body that can overturn its full scale introduction.
Action Plan
We aim to achieve the goal of the abandonment of this parking charge experiment (scheme is due for review by Westminster City Council) by making the views of riders known through a legal challenge (please donate), protest, lobbying, legal direct action and official objections.
Protests
We plan on organising regular protests on the streets of London, protests with purpose, for details of our next protest visit the events section on our website.
We hope to see you at the next one!
Direct Lobbying
We plan to lobby councillors to overturn this experiment and advise them of the weakness of the argument regarding the purported benefits.
We hope to also bring to the councillors attention the bad feeling this is creating among both their residents and commuters who greatly add to the Westminster Council economy.
What’s so bad about charging motorcycles to park when cars have to pay?
Rather than asking why shouldn’t bikes pay, ask yourself why should cars pay?
Cars should pay because:
- They pollute,
- They congest,
- They take up a large amount of road or kerb space,
- They cause significant wear and tear to road surfaces,
- They demand large-scale and complex parking infrastructures to accommodate them,
- Their use needs to be controlled and/or discouraged.
- Motorcycles/Scooters however:
- Do not pollute as much as cars,
- Do not congest at all,
- Do not take up large amounts of road or kerb space,
- Do not cause wear and tear to road surfaces,
- Do not require large-scale and complex parking infrastructures to accommodate them,
- Their use needs to be encouraged and promoted as an alternative to both cars and the already overburdened public transport system.
We will let the campaigns website speak for itself – view it at www.notobikeparkingtax.com
For Motorcycle Parking in Northern Ireland – Click Here
Riding en masse to the EU Commissioners’ Office in Brussels to officially submit a demand that an investigation be immediately launched into the violations of EU Directives.
As the ‘Black Man’ parking area in Belfast has gotten a mention I would like to provide a warning to all riders using this area just as I do week in week out.
In early September I spotted a youth tampering with my ignition wiring in the middle of the day! Luckily I had caught him on early enough that he hadn’t damaged anything apart from snapping a few cable ties but I believe he was setting the bike up to be stolen.
My bike wasn’t chained or alarmed so it was an easy target. The owner of the running shoe shop across the road had also spotted him and called the Police and he said he regularly saw spide type youths hovering around the bikes during the day and had even saw a group loitering with a large set of bolt cutters in the past.
I know of one bike that was stolen from there a couple of years ago and found destroyed in West Belfast. The owner never received the full value of the bike from his insurance company.
I would recommend using a heavy chain and locking it to the railings, if you can, everytime you park. The police spy street cameras don’t cover that area so you cant depend on video footage if the worst should happen.
My bike and another one beside mine was also tampered with recently and you should check your bike for anything suspicious or out of sorts before you ride off for your own safety.