Bike bonus: the turnover of the two-wheeler sector generated by the sale of bicycles and accessories and by repair services will go from 1.3 to 1.5 billion euros. This is good news but is accompanied by some paradoxes for the workers.
In 2020 alone, in Italy there will be a 20 percent increase in bicycle sales compared to the previous year, thus exceeding the number record than two million bikes sold. That the increase in sales is a result of travel restrictions caused by the health crisis and the bonuses paid by the government for mobility, there is no doubt. But the good news for the environment and the department – come on producers of bicycles to specialized and service shops – is also accompanied by some apparent paradox, with an increase in the layoffs for workers in the sector.
As he stated Piero Nigrelli, director of the cycle sector of the National Association of cycles, motorcycles and accessories, the revenue of the two-wheeler sector generated by the sale of bicycles and accessories and by repair services will go from 1.3 to 1.5 billion euros. But specialized shops – where about 70% of this amount will pass – with their thousands of employees, are dealing with the supplying, become longer and longer. “Even the big brands, which normally in this period had stocks in the order of 20,000 bikes, find themselves with a few hundred pieces at home.”, Explained Nigrelli. For the more than two hundred Italian small and medium-sized enterprises in the bicycle sector, supply times become a real problem. Because if on the one hand the sector – which employs 12,000 workers between direct and indirect and exports 60% of its production – has increased employment level 7% of the sector, on the other hand the employees of some companies ended up in layoffs. The cause? There are not enough components to meet the huge demand.
If in recent days someone has tried to make a foray into specialized stores to buy accessories, they know that the problem is real. Saddles, pedals, gearboxes have become precious pieces and sometimes it takes weeks to be able to buy a spare part. A problem and a further limitation to travel for those who count on two wheels as the only one means of transport, especially given the fact that public transport has become a means of contagion risk. As with face masks, you pay the price for increased demand around the world, and for addiction to globalized production chains, and often not very resilient. The proof is that some products of the Japanese company Shimano could take up to twelve months to arrive in Italy.
The click day on November 3rd was a virtual taste of what is happening in the sector. The initiative, organized by the Ministry of the Environment, was confusing to say the least. Those who had purchased a bicycle or scooter between May 4 and November 3 could click and queue, hoping to take the government bonus, to cover 60% of the cost of the product purchased, up to a maximum of 500 Euros. But they were not lacking Technical Problems and many participants were left out after waiting for hours in virtual queues. Eventually 301,000 got the right to wire transfers: the first left last Monday.
Who was excluded – promises the Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa – has the possibility to register until 9 December – if you have purchased a bike or a scooter between 4 May and 3 November on the buonomobilita.it platform by uploading data and invoice. The Government is therefore close to refinancing the mobility bonus, adding to the 215 million euros already allocated another 100 million a figure that the government will probably cover with the proceeds of the “permits to pollute” purchased by companies. And those who live in a municipality with a high rate of Co2 pollution and have not yet decided to buy a bicycle, from 1 January 2021 and for the whole year will be able to count on an incentive of 1,500 euros if they scrape a car and 500 euros if he will scrap a motorcycle.
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