The government has just announced the creation of a bonus for private sector employees who wish to cycle to work.
What is the “bicycle plan” ?
The bonus, whose official name is “sustainable mobility package”, was announced by French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe as part of his “bicycle plan”. The objective of which is to promote cycling by creating special measures such as development of cycle routes in communities or awareness sessions in primary schools.
Note that France is currently one of the European countries in which bicycles are used the least: more than twice as much as the European average.
A significant financial aid
On the public sector side, the sustainable mobility package seems to have been definitively implemented. As announced by the Prime Minister in a tweet of September 14, 2018: “The State will set an example: we will apply a flat rate of €200 (around $220) to all agents of State administrations and its operators who come to work by bicycle. #BikePlan”.
For employees in the private sector, the contribution can reach €400 (around $430) per year. A nice little sum to consider if you are considering buying an electric bike.
The exact sum remains at the company’s discretion, as implied by the use of the conditional in this other tweet from Édouard Philippe dated September 14, 2018. “With the sustainable mobility package, private and public employers will be able to contribute to the home-work travel costs of their employees or agents by bicycle up to 400 euros tax and social exemption. #BikePlan” he announced.
Conclusion
As you can see, the “bicycle plan” is an interesting French initiative aiming at encouraging bicycle travel, electric but not only!