Filenews 28 July 2022
A revised Subsidy Scheme for the purchase of a bicycle for the period 2022 – 2023 received the approval of the Council of Ministers. The main differences concern the application of the following socio-economic criteria to the terms of the project.
Specifically, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announced that, today, the Council of Ministers by decision approved the Revised Subsidy Scheme for the purchase of a bicycle for the period 2022-2023. The budget of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works includes a total provision of €200,000 for the year 2022. At the same time, the Ministry's goal for the year 2022 is 900 new non-electric bicycles and 25 bicycles for people with disabilities.
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Finance, set socio-economic criteria for targeting the plan to citizens who have lower financial capacity to buy a bicycle.
The main variations
Beneficiaries for the purchase of a new bicycle on the basis of socio-economic criteria:
i. Beneficiaries of the guaranteed minimum income provided by the Welfare Benefits Management Service of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.
ii. Recipients of the public assistance provided by the Social Welfare Services of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.
iii. The recipients of the benefit to pensioners with low incomes provided by the Welfare Benefits Management Service of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and has the meaning assigned to this term in accordance with the Scheme for the Support of Pensioners with Low Incomes, as amended or replaced in accordance with the respective Decisions of the Council of Ministers.
iv. Family Units with dependent children as defined in the Child Benefit Legislation of 2002 (Law 167 (I) /2002):
1. who have one (1) dependent child and have annual gross gross incomes up to € 19,500 and receive child benefit.
2. who have two (2) dependent children and have annual gross gross incomes up to € 39,000 and receive child benefit.
3. who have dependent three (3) or more children and have annual gross incomes up to € 49,000 and receive child benefit.
For the purchase of a bicycle type for people with disabilities, beneficiaries are the holders of a European Disability Card or upon presentation of a certificate from the Evaluation Committee of the Department of Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. It is noted that the types of bicycles for people with disabilities should be bicycles that mitigate any form of deficiency or disadvantage of the disabled person (tricycle bicycles, double bicycle-tandem, handrails, wheelchair transport bike). Any types of bicycles with disabilities that are not described above will need approval from the Sustainable Mobility Branch of the Department of Public Works and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works which the applicant must provide before the end of the application period.
The amount of the purchase subsidy for city, road and mountain bikes will continue to amount to €200 (incl. VAT) or the actual purchase price of the bicycle, whichever is the smallest provided that the purchase cost will not exceed €1,000 (including VAT). For the types of bicycles for people with disabilities, the subsidy amount will amount to €800 (incl. VAT) or the actual purchase price of the bicycle, whichever is the smallest, provided that the purchase cost will not exceed €4,000 (incl. VAT).
Applications for the purchase of bicycles will continue to be submitted through the dedicated platform set up for this purpose. Cypriot nationals, citizens of a Member State of the European Union and citizens of third countries, aged 18 and over, who reside permanently in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and comply with the above criteria, will have the right to submit an application.
Eligible bicycles are defined as City-Road Bikes and Mountain Bikes, as well as types of bicycles for people with disabilities as described in the Scheme, which meet the minimum standards set out in article 5 of the Regulation of Bicycle Movement Law of 2018 (L.19(I)/2018).
It is noted that applicants who have taken advantage of the Bicycle Grant Scheme for the period 2021 and have received a grant will be automatically excluded from the application system for 2022 and 2023 while the start of the application period will be announced by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works in the near future.
With this revised plan and to ensure an opportunity for all potential applicants based on the criteria of the project to submit an application, in case there is more interest, beyond the predetermined number of applications, an electronic draw will be held, which for the sake of transparency will be carried out electronically, using an application designed to process a fair draw, in a live broadcast.
The Vienna Declaration and Cyprus
The Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Mr. Yiannis Karousos, together with his European counterparts, had co-signed in May 2021 the Vienna Declaration as well as the handbook on pan-European strategic planning for the promotion of cycling. On the basis of the declaration and in order to achieve this vision, targets had been set that must be implemented by 2030 in the European Union and by extension in Cyprus. Some of them are:
(a) Significantly increase cycling in each country to contribute to the overall target of doubling the number of cyclists per Member State.
(b) To increase the overall resilience of the transport system by providing the appropriate space for cycling and walking.
c) To expand and improve the infrastructure for cycling and walking in each country.
(d) Develop and implement national cycling policies, supported by national plans, strategies and programmes, including the setting of national targets in each country.
(e) Significantly increase the safety of cyclists in each country and significantly reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries per Member State.
(f) Integration of cycling, including related infrastructure.
It also marks a pathway for CO2 neutral emissions, and aims to protect health, efficient and safe modes of transport, setting out a clear PAN-European strategy.
Further elements of the Vienna Declaration include: recommendations for environmentally friendly and sustainable transport, for eco-driving, conclusions and recommendations from the Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning Manual, as well as current events and statistical figures describing the development of environmentally friendly transport.
The first announcement of the Incentive Scheme was made in the second half of 2021 and was much more than expected of interest, as only in the first hours of operation of the application process, more than 8,000 applications had been submitted.
