Bicyclists pay their own way

I found most of this at the Marin County Bicycle Coalition website. They invented the hottub and the mountain bike out there in Marin County-- those are two of the 20th centuries greatest contributions to world civilization, imho.

I expanded the piece and rewrote a little of it- parts of the text were kinda unclear or clunky. ~~Cliff H.

Bicyclists pay their own way

Automobile driving in the United States is subsidized. Gasoline taxes pay for only 60% of BASIC road infrastructure. The remainder is paid by all taxpayers through local, state, and federal taxes, whether we drive or not.

Because bicycling puts so little wear and tear on our roads, and because cycling-specific infrastructure is far cheaper than general road costs, a cyclist who never buys gasoline easily pays his or her fair share. Add to this these monetary inequities:

1. Bicyclists are often denied bridge or highway access that their tax dollars have paid for

2. General taxes pay for environmental and health damages caused by cars

3. Defense taxes to support our oil interests abroad, of which the most oil goes to cars

It's clear that it's not bicyclists who are getting a free ride.