I got €31.50 this month for cycling to work, when I lived further away from the office it was about €50 per month – enough that a decent bike pays for itself, and its own repairs/parts, in a few years Absolutely fantastic system - ThreadSky

johnhyphen.bsky.social • 45 days ago

I got €31.50 this month for cycling to work, when I lived further away from the office it was about €50 per month – enough that a decent bike pays for itself, and its own repairs/parts, in a few years

Absolutely fantastic system

Reposted from Brent Toderian

Commuting by bicycle in Belgium pays off as employees earn compensation for every km they ride. 1 in 6 employees commute by bike and get a bicycle allowance of €0.28/km. People cycling to work in 2024 earned an average of around €460 net per year (some as high as €810), up 20% over the past year.

Comments

adrianhiel.bsky.social•45 days ago

Ha! Just did the maths and I am pretty sure my €3000 e-cargo bike will pay for itself in 3 years (this May). It is a fantastic system.

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

wow, that's pretty good! Probably will have also paid for any maintenance, the insurance bills and the electricity it's used by the end of the year too!

adrianhiel.bsky.social•45 days ago

True! All that and the kids like it too.

robpountney.bsky.social•45 days ago

Much the same in the Netherlands...

zolenkan.bsky.social•44 days ago

in austria meanwhile a possible incoming rightwing gov't intends to cut that payment to cyclists while at the same time keeping the rate for car drivers the same.
insane and going backwards.

joshsteich.bsky.social•45 days ago

Unfortunately, in the US, anti-parking stick is miles more effective than active transit carrots

fbmri.bsky.social•44 days ago

In Germany you get a tax deduction, however it's not limited to cycling. So it encourages people to go by car because they probably have one anyway and longer distances "pay more"

johnhyphen.bsky.social•43 days ago

seems like it needs improving!!

momoftwo.bsky.social•45 days ago

Fantastic. I grew up in Frankfurt and biking was the way to go. On rainy days we took the streetcars to school. For further outings the German rail service is excellent and gets you were you want to be.

dublinenjoyer.bsky.social•44 days ago

But how do they know how you're getting to work? Could you not still drive or take public transport and claim to be cycling?

johnhyphen.bsky.social•44 days ago

There is a more advantageous system for people driving, unfortunately

So if you drive you'd just declare that

Also:

https://bsky.app/profile/johnhyphen.bsky.social/post/3lgsnp2akfk23

tinydbass.bsky.social•45 days ago

What's the mechanism where you register the distance that you've cycled in any given month?

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

distance between your home and your workplace, multiplied by 2, multiplied by the days you're in work, afaik

some people have to fill in a form every month, some people have it calculated by their HR

tinydbass.bsky.social•45 days ago

Ah, ok. So it's relatively simple (I guess it's easy enough for employers to check how far you live from work). I would love this system....

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

ya, and you don't actually have to cycle every day either

you have the choice between taking the bike money or having your monthly public transport ticket paid for. basically everyone actually uses a mix of both though

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

the public transport ticket costs more than what I get for cycling, but monthly I naturally spend less than my bike money on public transport (even weekends included) so the bike money makes sense for me!

tinydbass.bsky.social•45 days ago

I have a return trip of 25km when I'm in the office so that would be €140 per month if I went in every day

elisecd.bsky.social•45 days ago

I've lived in Belgium. Seems like a significant part of the year would be difficult to ride a bike to work in and not show up soaked. Do you just wear foul weather gear? Or has global warming changed that?

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

raincoat, rain trousers, mudguards

90% of the days it's raining you can get away with that

on the tiny number of really awful days you just have to take public transport

sharperstill.bsky.social•45 days ago

Do you use a poncho style raincoat?

johnhyphen.bsky.social•45 days ago

Nope, standard one

Combined with rain trousers it works for everything but rain so heavy that the actual cycling itself becomes dangerous

bradpnw.bsky.social•45 days ago

Cool plan in Belgium.
Wont work in the USA because you can’t hold a coffee and use your cell phone while pedaling.. safely😉
Then there’s a needed shower, change of clothes..not to mention the weather..

mancalledhorse.bsky.social•44 days ago

You don't need a shower or a change of clothes. You're not doing a sportive, you're just going to work. You wear your ordinary work clothes and cycle at a moderate pace, and if it's raining you wear a waterproof jacket as well

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