Should bicyclists be licensed to ride?

An article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer asks that very question. In most cases bicyclists share the road with automobiles and bicycle advocacy groups continually ask for money to improve or create separate bike lanes, trails, etc. Should a bicyclist help pay for some of that infrastructure though licensing fees?

P-I reporter Angela Galloway posed the following:

Motorists help pay for roads with gas taxes, tolls and license tabs. Boaters subsidize maritime programs with vessel registration and boat launch fees.

Maybe bicyclists, too, should pitch in for the costs of their trails and lanes.

Although there are no states that have license fees for cyclists some municipalities do. Madison, WI, Davis, CA, Salt Lake City, UT all have programs in place requiring licensing of bicyclists. In most cases the fees are so small that they barely cover the administration costs of the programs themselves.

In many cases licensing helps city planners figure out just how many cyclists use the roads in their area. It allows them to plan accordingly for the growing number of cyclists.

« Link to article

Most cycling advocacy groups oppose mandatory registrations since they say that cyclists are already contributing to the cost of roads, paths and trails by way of property taxes. In the majority of cases cyclists also drive cars and do pay their fair share of gasoline taxes. They also say that cycling helps relieve congestion on roads and helps the environment.

I am on the fence on this type of proposal, not because of the fee (I really don’t believe that you could raise enough money with this type of fee to make any contribution to infrastructure), but I do see it as a tool to help planners. Not sure if I would go along with mandatory registration, but a voluntary registration with no fees attached might be a good planning tool.

In the end, most of these types of projects are abandoned since the costs far outweigh the revenue generated. This is one of those things that comes up from time to time. Maybe we should just put it to rest and never mention it again.