The Government has moved to double the upper limit of the allowance available under the bike to work scheme, with €3,000 now allowed for the purchase of cargo bikes and e-cargo bikes.
It means 52 per cent of up to €3,000 can be saved, via a tax break, by people buying a cargo bike or e-cargo bike.
Previous the limits were €1,250 for regular bikes and €1,500 for e-bikes and cargo bikes, with Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD (Greens) now having welcomed the just-introduced new upper limit.
The Department of Transport said the limit for cargo bikes and e-cargo bikes was being increased in a bid to encourage their use - to replace vehicles and cut emissions - and also because they were more expensive than other bikes.
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"Cargo bikes have become more popular in recent years with many people using them to bring their kids to school, for shopping and for work purposes as delivery vehicles. The cost factor, however, is an impediment to many people who may want to buy one," Ryan said.
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"We hope that by increasing the limits for cargo bikes, more people will be able to choose them as a more sustainable way to get around.
"We also need to see our courier and delivery companies moving at a faster pace from vans and trucks to cargo bikes and we are looking at ways of supporting this transformation, specifically for the last mile element of their deliveries."
The bike to work scheme was introduced in 2009. It was first amended in July 2020 when the original €1,000 limit was increased to €1,250 for bicycles and €1,500 for electric assist bicycles.
Those limits could also be used for cargo bikes and the latest proposed change increases the limit for cargo bikes only to €3,000; whether electrically assisted or regular.
