Licences, registration and even number plates on bicycles have been the talk of the UK cycling community these past few weeks ever since the likely soon-to-be-replaced Transport Secretary's comments about toughening the law on bike riders were published on the front pages of national newspapers.

And while his interest in number plates on bikes was short-lived and has since been backtracked on, it got us thinking — is there anywhere in the world that requires, or has required in the past, cyclists to be licensed?

United Kingdom

Let's start closest to home...
bike number plate on Riese und Muller Nevo speed pedelec

Until a couple of weeks ago the idea of cyclists needing to be licensed to use the roads was little more than a social media 'debate' occasionaly worthy of an airing on morning TV or radio talk shows.

As recently as December, the Department for Transport said there were "no plans" to implement a formal registration system for cyclists, saying the costs of introducing such a system would "outweigh the benefits".

Grant Shapps' recent comments relit the spotlight on the issue, but were followed by backtracking on number plates for cyclists. The Transport Secretary, who may well be out of a job once the next leader of the Conservative Party is decided, suggested a toughening of the rules for cyclists would be considered as part of the current review that may see a causing death by dangerous cycling law introduced.

United States and Canda

City planner and urban mobility expert Brent Toderian (link is external) explained the licensing discussion "pops up every once in a while in North American cities, usually fuelled by conservative talk radio. It gets a little bit of fire and heat for a week or so and then goes away".

"As those who are actually informed on the issue point out all the reasons why it's far too expensive, won't work, and would be detrimental to actual stated public goals. Usually the conversation is initiated by the same people who would rather see fewer bikes and less safe bike infrastructure," he told us.

With legislation changing from state to state and even more locally, PeopleForBikes (link is external) explained there are some parts of North America where licensing (of sorts) is required.

"Hawaii residents need to register their traditional and electric bicycles, but they are not required to have a licence," the group told us.

Permanent registration costs $15 and is applicable for anyone aged 18 or over. Bikes registered in another state do not need to be registered again in Hawaii.

"Several cities in Northern California have them, and many places in Florida require bike registrations. We thought Salt Lake City, and Utah in general, had one but perhaps that's changed — it's vague on the Salt Lake City website as to whether or not it's required.

"Montgomery County, a huge county in Maryland outside of Washington D.C., only repealed its bike registration requirements in 2020. Lots of places have repealed them but every year somewhere new tries to introduce them under the pretence of raising funds (because they often cost money) or helping identify lost bikes when they're stolen. It's my personal opinion that they do far more harm than good though."

Australia

Perhaps surprisingly considering the library of strict laws and hefty penalty fines that cyclists Down Under can find themselves on the receiving end of, Australia does not require bike riders to be licensed.

As Brent pointed out is the case in the United States, Australia also has semi-regular calls for some form of licensing, most recently in 2014 when New South Wales Roads Minister Duncan Gay unsuccessfuly pushed for a cycling licence to be introduced.

Instead, he upped the fines for rule-breaking cyclists.

Netherlands

No registration or licensing required.

Denmark
copenhagen 2 - via unsplash

The Danes have a 'VIN-system', introduced in 1942, which gives all bicycles a unique code embedded into the frame. It is illegal to sell frames in the country without a VIN and insurance companies refuse to pay out on stolen bicycles without one, but the system is more of an anti-theft measure than a registration.

Switzerland

Cyclists in Switzerland used to need a CHF-5-10 vignette sticker on their bikes for insurance purposes, however this began to be phased out in 2012. While being a registration scheme it was also to force riders into obtaining third-party liability insurance.

Support for the system waned at the turn of the 2010s as it was acknowledged that the cost of the scheme was outweighing the benefits.

Japan
Tokyo cyclists (CC licensed image by neekoh.fi:Flickr)

[CC licensed image by neekoh.fi:Flickr]

Japan remains the most prominent current example of a major nation requiring citizens to register their bikes and, after purchasing a bicycle, riders are legally obliged to register their machine.

Registration costs around £3 and is often done as the bike is purchased, with a form including personal details submitted. Upon completion a small sticker can be added to the bike. It's worth noting again, as with Denmark's VIN, the registration is primarily an anti-theft measure.

North Korea

And finally the one you've all been waiting for...

Up until 1992, bicycles were banned in the capital, Pyongyang, although even with the ban lifted the cost is far out of reach for many. Cyclists in the country reportedly must get a license to use their bikes, pass a road safety test and register their bicycle.

So yes, in short, were the UK to go down the path of requiring all cyclists to register their bikes or obtain a licence, North Korea might just be the closest comparison...

https://road.cc/content/feature/where-are-cyclists-licensed-295543

British Cycling have 145,000 members.
Cycling UK have another 68,000.

Last year 6.5million people rode a bike in the UK.

So 3% of cyclists are currently registered.
It strikes me that most of the rest are going to consider £50/year to be unreasonable and too expensive.
Those who demand registration and compulsory insurance don't really want either and won't be satisfied (nor would compulsory helmets, hi-vis, visible number plates, speed limits, or anything else satisfy them). They just want there to be fewer cyclists. Compuslory registration and/or insurance would achieve that.

On 29/08/2022 01:49 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> British Cycling have 145,000 members.
> Cycling UK have another 68,000.
>
> Last year 6.5million people rode a bike in the UK.
>
> So 3% of cyclists are currently registered.
> It strikes me that most of the rest are going to consider £50/year to be unreasonable and too expensive.

Well... they would... they're fairy-cyclists, aren't they?

Any price would too expensive as far as they're concerned. It's only
other people who have to meet expenses.

Most of them like to turn up at country pubs on their fairy-cycles,
demanding free glasses of tap water on the basis that they are
(completely non-paying) "customers". Then they get their egg sandwiches
out of the saddle-bags and eat them in the pub's garden.

Some of them are even prepared to drive a defective motor vehicle across
a continent in order to save money.

> Those who demand registration and compulsory insurance don't really want either and won't be satisfied (nor would compulsory helmets, hi-vis, visible number plates, speed limits, or anything else satisfy them). They just want there to be fewer cyclists. Compuslory [sic] registration and/or insurance would achieve that.

Frame numbers, crucial part of combatting bike theft but with no official scheme, just something the manufacturer provided. Often teamed with having your postcode hammered into the bottom bracket, which the police would often do for free at fetes etc. I can remember them at least on steel bikes up to about 2000. Not sure why they died out, are they harder to put into/more likely to compromise aluminium frames? Presumably they couldn't be carved into carbon frames. None of my newer bikes, carbon, aluminium or steel seem to have them, instead having more or less permanent computer barcodes instead. Is it assumed that if you want a marker you would put Smartwater or similar on it? They were very useful as a secondhand buyer, if you looked the bike over and found the frame number had been filed off you knew not to buy as it was nicked.