Fiscal incentives play a pivotal role in promoting active mobility by making it more appealing and financially viable for individuals. Purchase incentives, such as subsidies or tax breaks for bicycles, e-bikes, and related accessories, lower the entry cost for choosing sustainable travel options. On the other hand, congestion charges, fuel taxes, and parking fees create a financial deterrent for car usage, encouraging a shift towards walking, cycling, or public transport. Additionally, employers can be incentivised to offer benefits like cycle-to-work schemes or reimbursements for active commuting.
There are almost
300 tax-incentive and purchase-premium schemes for cycling across Europe offered by national, regional and local authorities to make it attractive to cycle more and drive less. ECF has mapped these schemes in an
online tool that provides information about the size of the subsidy.
ECF's report, ''
commuting who pays the bill'', offers an overview fiscal regimes for commuting in Europe and recommendations for establishing a level playing-field. Please note that this report was published in 2014 and hasn't been updated since.
With over 100 billion EUR, congestion costs European cities over 1% of the EU GDP per year (2016). ECF's report “
Congestion charges and cycling” proves the success of investing revenues from congestion charges into a sustainable mobility plan, and particularly cycling. Please note that this report was published in 2016 and hasn't been updated since.
