Sydney Deputy Mayor goes rogue but riders can rest assured

Despite Deputy Mayor of Sydney, Kerryn Phelps, breaking ranks and calling for a __bike licence scheme, New South Wales riders can be assured that no such a law will be introduced.

In a plan provided only to suburban paper Central Sydney NewsLocal, Cr Phelps wants all __bike riders to sit a compulsory test, carry a licence and have compulsory insurance.

Bike-friendly Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore wasted no time shooting down the idea, reemphasising that the City of Sydney wants to encourage more people to ride.

“I want to encourage people to get on a bike, not put more red tape in their way. All Australian states have ruled out bike registration and licencing because it would reduce the number of people riding,” Mayor Clover Moore also told Central Sydney NewsLocal.

There is nothing on the City of Sydney website about the proposal.

Bicycle Network Chief Executive Officer, Craig Richards, said that the issue of ID and licensing for bike riders was put to bed last year after the state government canned a similar ill-thought out proposal.

“Common sense prevailed last year when the NSW Government’s plans for ID were dropped. They were strongly opposed not only by bike groups, but also Labor, The Greens and the deputy’s own Lord Mayor Clover Moore,” said Mr Richards.

“Now Cr Phelps is proposing to go even further with licensing. It just makes NSW look ridiculous. The issue is dead and buried. It's time to move on and focus on encouraging bike riding to fix Sydney's crippling  congestion and improve livability,” added Mr Richards.

Cr Phelps also said that she was yet to hear an argument against bike licences – even though no other country in the world has such a scheme and the idea has been thrown out whenever considered.

“The fact is that no country in the world enforces ID or licensing for bike riders because as Cr Moore says, it is a huge barrier to riding. It discourages the very activity the rest of the world is encouraging. It's time for NSW to start acting like its 2017 and prepare for the future.” added Mr Richards.

See Bicycle Network’s #RideIDfree campaign that resulted in the abandonment of mandatory ID for bike riders.

The Central Sydney NewsLocal story can be found here