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commuting report

Commuting stands for an important part of traffic in Europe, and fiscal systems have long played a major role in the prevalence of motorized commuting in Europe. Fiscal regimes for cars are flawed and they have important ramifications which hinder the development of commuting by other modes of transport – including that of cycling – despite the fact these have many secondary benefits. The study on fiscal regimes for commuting provides case studies of 11 European countries, analysing the state of play for fiscality in commuting and coming up with specific country-by-country recommendations on how fiscal regimes can be used by governments to create a better balanced mobility.

[Link to ECF report: Commuting: Who Pays The Bill]

While some studies have compared different company car tax regimes in Europe, so far no comparison has been made on how tax systems treat other modes of transport for commuting, such as cycling or public transport. Using input from its Member Organisations and its National Cycling Officer network, ECF has therefore conducted a study comparing different fiscal regimes for commuting by cycling, public transport and car in 11 European countries chosen according to the availability of data. This was done with a view to identify best practices for incentivising sustainable ways of commuting, like the cycling mileage allowance for home-work travel that exists in Belgium or tax exemptions for the provision of bikes by companies to their employees that exist in the UK and in the Netherlands. 

This study gives general as well as country-specific policy advice to decision-makers at the European and the national level on how to create a level playing field for all modes of transport throughout Europe, including those – like cycling – which have a positive impact on the environment and public health. In order for this levelling to be achieved, incentives for active and environmentally friendly modes of transport like cycling should be introduced – or extended where they already exist. It should be possible to combine these incentives with those for the use of public transport in order to support intermodality. At the same time, environmentally harmful tax subsidies for e.g. company cars need to be replaced by mode-neutral solutions like mobility budgets in all EU Member States.