Draft bill: Romania aims to encourage bike purchase and use with voucher program

After meal and gift vouchers, Romanians may also receive bike vouchers from their employers to buy bikes for the daily commute. Local deputy Valeriu Steriu, president of the National Union for Romania's Progress (UNPR), has submitted to the Parliament a draft law on bike vouchers, which aims to encourage people to use bicycles to get to work. Within this program, the employers could offer their staff incentives in the form of vouchers, once every three years, the maximum grant being of RON 1,500 (some EUR 330), according to an UNPR statement, cited by local Mediafax. The vouchers would be used for purchasing bikes as well as bike accessories, spare parts, tools, and cleaning products or equipment. Moreover, the UNPR leader would want employers to be able to grant incentives to the employees who use bikes to get to work, or for corporate travel. This allowance would also be given in the form of bike vouchers, within an annual limit of RON 300 (some EUR 70), for a value of RON 33 per km. The employers would have the freedom to define the list of supporting documents required for granting the incentives, and frequency of their submission. The draft bill follows the idea of similar initiatives implemented by most EU countries to encourage bike purchase and use for trips to and from work, and corporate travel. Hundreds of cyclists dressed in suits to ride their bikes in Bucharest this May Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com