Cantonal Council LU Lucerne will not levy a bicycle tax
Cyclists in the canton of Lucerne will not be charged a levy to help finance cycle paths. On Monday, the cantonal council rejected a postulate from Markus Bucher (center) by 55 votes to 47.
16.09.2024, 15:19
SDA
Bucher justified his demand for a polluter-pays levy by arguing that the cycle path network should finally be completed. However, the canton is facing major financial challenges in road construction. He therefore feared that the cycle paths would be put on the back burner.
Bucher emphasized the advantage of his demand: "If cyclists pay, they can also demand. Otherwise they would remain supplicants.
Parliament, however, saw hardly any possibility of efficiently collecting such a levy from cyclists. Franziska Rölli (GLP), for example, said that Bucher's idea was only good at first glance. However, a large proportion of the levy would be lost in administrative costs.
Sarah Bühler-Häfliger (SP) feared that a levy could discourage people from using bicycles. It was also pointed out in the debate that cycling was also important for health policy reasons. Bucher received support from the FDP.
However, the Cantonal Council supported a postulate from its Transport and Construction Committee by 83 votes to 24. According to this, the cantonal government must examine options for the additional financing of transport infrastructure, including a cycle route concept.
