Paging the cyclisti: fixed-gear bikes and brakes

I'd expect it to work reasonably well in the summer, & be a miserable
failure in the winter.

 

It's better in the summer, no doubt, but consider the catchment area
an edge of town 1159 bed hospital has to get it staff from, the shift
patterns involved, and the requirement for even local-ish people not
on one of the main hospital bus routes to change busses via the city
centre, and you can see why it has gone to shit.

 

It's completely insane, they tried it on in Leeds, restricting staff car
parking and making it expensive.
What you get as a result is nurses walking and standing at bus stops in the
middle of the night in very dodgy areas.

Motorised personal transport is the great invention of our age.

 

Single parents working part time and needing to pick up children on
the way home also suffer, as does anyone that lives in a nearby town
and commutes say 10-15 miles.

 

Oh well, that's all right then. "I read it on the internet" is now an
officially recognised source of knowledge, right?

 

Totally. I'd hapily cycle to work every day if it was up to 7 miles
each way, and I didn't have to cycle in a suit.

Like you, 50 miles to the office would be pushing it a bit though.

 

And people who work from home. I'm being financially penalised for
causing zero pollution on my commute. It's so unfair!

 

I see working from home as cost neutral. The extra heating,
electricity, etc. is more than ofset against putting £60 of fuel in
the car each week.

 

Easy. On your 'work at home' days, drag the bike out and cycle round the
block.

 

I think my (and others') interpretation is rather different.

I suspect that the main point of the scheme was to reduce the number of
cars on the roads during busy times. The times when folk commute to
work. Hence the catchy name - "Cycle to Work Scheme"

A fringe benefit is that people will then have access to a cycle for
their leisure activities and that helps the Govt.'s aim of getting
people fit and healthy. Hence why the bikes can be used for leisure as well.

That's not quite what it says though is it?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/eim21664.htm

"the employees must use the cycle or equipment mainly for qualifying
journeys. <snip>. Other use of the cycle, for instance pleasure use or
use by members of the employee's family will not disqualify the
exemption provided that the other use is not the main use of the bicycle."

They go on to say

"Employees are not expected to keep detailed records of time spent
cycling or miles travelled for the purpose of this 'main use' test.
Accept that the test is satisfied unless there is clear evidence to
suggest that less than half of the use of the cycle or equipment is on
qualifying journeys. If it is clear that there is substantial use of the
cycle for qualifying journeys, do not make special enquiries about the
extent of any other use."

Which I interpret as saying that it's intended to be used for journeys
to work, and to keep the system simple (and not give firms a
bureaucratic burden that would discourage them from offering the scheme)
there is no need for firms to keep detailed records. However, they
should look out to see if the employee is taking the piss and it's
obvious that they're not using the bike for half their journeys

From a scheme that encourages cycling to work? Perhaps. HMRC says you
shouldn't though (and I can't find the reference, darn it), but with the
expectation that you will be using the bike > 50% of your journeys to
meet some form of public transport e.g. cycling to the train station for
your onward journey to work.

It all comes down to the interpretation of the terms "Cycle to Work
scheme" and "the employees must use the cycle or equipment mainly for
qualifying journeys". Most seem to interpret that to mean that the
employee is provided with a bike to cycle to work and that the scheme is
intended for primarily for that purpose. Of course, if the correct
interpretation is "go on, fill your boots, after all we're not looking",
then of course, you are correct.

More importantly, would you mind if I gave your steam cleaner a go over
the next few days?

 

Wow, she cleans her own engine bay? <impressed>

 

How's that for a euphmism?

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

On 14/04/11 01:32, ogden wrote:

Rationalise? She bought a Monster S4R, one of the nuttiest bikes I've
ever written, because she preferred the look of it to a standard Monster.

Rational doesn't come into it...

 

I paid the extra for a K4 thou over a K3 thou just because I wanted one
with the white fairing lowers.

I am, however, an idiot.

 

Certainly not if you think they'll ever reply.

 

It's as good an excuse as any to buy a proper one.

 

When buying Ducatis, 'twas ever thus.