Sometimes, the news is good
A very small victory, but I'm still celebrating – good news for bike commuters!
In a nutshell, starting in January companies will be able to offer a tax-free $20 a month to employees who commute to work by bike, and can deduct that amount from the company's federal taxes. It seems like such a small amount of money ... and in a place like this, where most people don't work in town anyway, maybe it won't make much difference in the traffic congestion. Still, ideas like this do help us all inch toward a collective change in attitude toward the bicycle as a viable method of transportation. And that is important.
So often, when I see something about bikes in the media, the implication seems to be that people are taking to bicycle commuting only as a last resort – because gas is just too damn expensive, or because (as in a popular insurance commercial that's running lately) they're too young, poor or stupid to afford a car. Then there's the one where a man arriving at his office by bike is mocked by a co-worker, and also the one where a deer and a squirrel driving a hybrid car actually run a bicyclist off the road in a national park.
Or this equal-opportunity attacker, that subtly insults not only the bicycle but three or four other alternate forms of transportation (not to mention Europe), all in one elegant 30-second spot:
I know it's just the big money industries (autos, oil) trying to maintain the illusion that bikes are only for losers, kids and weekend warriors tearing up the trails – while successful, contributing adults do all their serious getting around in their very own personal car, and the bigger, the better.
Anyway. I'm just glad to see a small item in the news that will maybe help to de-marginalize biking – and get more people to do it!
Given the situation at my office these days, probably I will not ask for (or receive, if I do ask) that twenty a month. But then again, maybe I will.
In closing, a couple more commercials – good ones, this time. This one pretty much has it all: bikes, dogs, beer and swimming!
And this one – my favorite. "That's the way, patriot!"
P.S. I am SO getting some of these before winter. Like probably this week! Looks like a good idea, no?
In a nutshell, starting in January companies will be able to offer a tax-free $20 a month to employees who commute to work by bike, and can deduct that amount from the company's federal taxes. It seems like such a small amount of money ... and in a place like this, where most people don't work in town anyway, maybe it won't make much difference in the traffic congestion. Still, ideas like this do help us all inch toward a collective change in attitude toward the bicycle as a viable method of transportation. And that is important.
So often, when I see something about bikes in the media, the implication seems to be that people are taking to bicycle commuting only as a last resort – because gas is just too damn expensive, or because (as in a popular insurance commercial that's running lately) they're too young, poor or stupid to afford a car. Then there's the one where a man arriving at his office by bike is mocked by a co-worker, and also the one where a deer and a squirrel driving a hybrid car actually run a bicyclist off the road in a national park.
Or this equal-opportunity attacker, that subtly insults not only the bicycle but three or four other alternate forms of transportation (not to mention Europe), all in one elegant 30-second spot:
I know it's just the big money industries (autos, oil) trying to maintain the illusion that bikes are only for losers, kids and weekend warriors tearing up the trails – while successful, contributing adults do all their serious getting around in their very own personal car, and the bigger, the better.
Anyway. I'm just glad to see a small item in the news that will maybe help to de-marginalize biking – and get more people to do it!
Given the situation at my office these days, probably I will not ask for (or receive, if I do ask) that twenty a month. But then again, maybe I will.
In closing, a couple more commercials – good ones, this time. This one pretty much has it all: bikes, dogs, beer and swimming!
And this one – my favorite. "That's the way, patriot!"
P.S. I am SO getting some of these before winter. Like probably this week! Looks like a good idea, no?Labels: bikes
2 Comments:
Nooooooooo!
If biking becomes "patriotic," I might just have to stop!
--g
LOL. Guinness has always had good ads and commercials. Today, I saw two guys on bikes wearing Guinness brand bike shorts. Very cool.
I find it hard to admit, but I actually liked the Miller High Life commercial, too. I'd love to see that type of man actually using a bike as transportation.
P.S. In Portland, people consider it pretty normal to commute to work by bike. I thought you'd find that encouraging.
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