To think cycling isn't free and job center should pay milliage

[feellikeahugefailure]

I have to sign on every week. Every other week they pay expenses. It's several busses to get there, so is 14.60 return.

They will pay this bus fare or pay 25p a mile but if you use your bike you get nothing.

When you are on such a limited income ware and tear on the bike does happen and is a big expense also the calories used are an expense. Even just something like 5p a mile should be possible imo.

I was going to use my bike on nice days and I would end up saving the country money and be fitter. But seeing as they pay for the bus fare I would never bike there. Its a reasonably long way and I would need alot of calories after doing the return journey.

I've claimed JSA in the past. It wasn't free. I pay for it by paying national insurance. It's what NI is for. You pay in, collectively, so help is there as a safety net when it's needed.

I've been made redundant. I've had gaps between contracts. I'm qualified, intelligent, work hard and am good at what I do. But the economy is fucked and perfectly decent, honest people are sometimes unemployed. Personally I don't want the rural unemployed to have to go short on life's basic because rural public transport barely exists. I'd rather pay more tax so that I can live in a society that exhibits a modicum of compassion.

The whole post is abit nasty. Not just the biccies.

Paying for cycling is a brilliant idea. I'd also throw in free bottle of water and flapjack or banana for people who walk or cycle there.
yes the nhs is based on need to public health takes a preventative approach with the aim of reducing need. And all government agencies should be working towards it.

BUT public health
not sure what happened there

Ridiculous.

HMRC rates are to reimburse people for business mileage. Not just for their commute to their normal place of work. People don't get paid or reimbursed their commuting costs.

Cycling is free. And good for you. And a useful way to get about for free whilst getting fitter. Why can't people just do it because it's sensible and take responsibility for themselves, for their own benefit? Why is the government expected to incentivise everyone to do everything?

The entitlement baffles me.

The additional sign on weeks are treated ss an expense (business or otherwise) . The Op is trying to save the Government money by cycling instead of claiming £14.60 for the bus and she is being entitled.The op is forced to pay £14.60 out of £146 which has to last 2 weeks if she doesn't cycle. That is grossly unfair as it is not her fault that so many job centres have closed.
Personally I would get the bus on the days you can claim and cycle the other days.

I agree Browneyedgirl. What I really wanted to say was,"How bitchy".
Hey ho, let them eat cake. And we all know the karma that caught up with her!

It's madness that people living so far from job centres have to go in in person and sign on - proving your jobhunting could be as simple as emailing your list of things you've done surely? They must waste so much money in travel costs and also time wasted waiting for people who don't show up

Of course YABU!

Cycling isn't free. It's cheaper than driving. My bike cost £400. The last service was 160. Brake blocks are around £5. It needs oil, tyres, new inner tubes, lights. The OP is not asking for travel expenses where none are available. She's asking for a small amount towards cycling expenses where public transport and driving expenses are available.

Well, then you can say "walking isn't free".

Your shoe soles get worn down, you need "extra calories" for that too, and you need to buy extra clothes, an umbrella and a scarf to keep warm.

So should the government pay us all to walk places?

Look, this is once a week, is it not? Not every day.

It's madness that people living so far from job centres have to go in in person and sign on - proving your jobhunting could be as simple as emailing your list of things you've done surely

I think that they're trying to make it as much as PITA for people as possible in the hope that people will only claim it for as long as is absolutely necessary.

about 5 years ago when I was first on it they would accept a list like this > 1) looked in the paper
2) checked such and such site.. And so on. Literally a few words in each box. They made it so easy to just scribble down a few things an hour before the appointment that I could have got away with not looking for a job at all. I know many people who did just that. These were the type of people who stayed on it long term IME. Thinking of my old housemate in particular, He hadn't looked for a single job. He simply spent two minutes creating a made up list once a fortnight before his short appointment AND he was getting paid for it. It didn't encourage him to get a job. It was easier for him to remain on JSA.

I think that's the type of mentality they're trying to discourage here. People are more likely to want to get off JSA as quickly as possible if it was an absolute PITA for them and required actual effort to keep getting paid.

I don't have any sympathy OP.

I cycle to work (15 mile return journey) about 3x a week, and fwiw in 4000 miles I have had 3 punctures. That cost me about £36 altogether. I have the side benefit of being a bit fitter and getting to work quicker. And (as I pay) it saves me a lot of money (would be £5 /day).

• I think that they're trying to make it as much as PITA for people as possible in the hope that people will only claim it for as long as is absolutely necessary.

about 5 years ago when I was first on it they would accept a list like this > 1) looked in the paper
2) checked such and such site.. And so on. Literally a few words in each box. They made it so easy to just scribble down a few things an hour before the appointment that I could have got away with not looking for a job at all. I know many people who did just that. These were the type of people who stayed on it long term IME. Thinking of my old housemate in particular, He hadn't looked for a single job. He simply spent two minutes creating a made up list once a fortnight before his short appointment AND he was getting paid for it. It didn't encourage him to get a job. It was easier for him to remain on JSA.

I think that's the type of mentality they're trying to discourage here. People are more likely to want to get off JSA as quickly as possible if it was an absolute PITA for them and required actual effort to keep getting paid.*

I see that logic. I just think it's more expensive logic than the odd few who somehow manage to enjoy a life on benefits. The vast majority hate being trapped by it.

If they had some sort of system that flagged up prolific long term claimants to come in - say if you are on it for over 6 months or something, and everyone below that could email or telephone in?

Whenever I hear a certain song from a few summers ago, I think of the local job centre where I was signing on. Every week the same music blared out of this van as a group of painters and decorators got out, ditched their overalls, and strolled into the job centre. If they had had CCTV outside they'd've been able to slash that area's benefits bill.

There are job centres who are involved in initiatives such as 35 hour a week attendance and if you're claiming long term you'll be referred to the work programme if you haven't done it.
Have you only recently lost your job OP? You made references to being in work recently which is why I wondered whether the whole procedure is new to you.

Every week the same music blared out of this van as a group of painters and decorators got out, ditched their overalls, and strolled into the job centre. If they had had CCTV outside they'd've been able to slash that area's benefits bill.

Yes, because everyone who claims JSA, or any kind of benefit, is faking.

Anyway, they shouldn't need to resort to the expense of CCTV RhodaBull, because as a concerned citizen and hard working taxpayer, you surely reported them?

It's even worse to think that people that live near the Job Centre do not have to pay any transport costs to sign on and yet no matter how expensive, you are supposed to "budget" for bus fare for your signing on day no matter how expensive that is.

I do not think you ABU to think that the JC should pay bus fares even on your signing day but think that it is up to you how you choose to get there. My mum once had to walk the 8 miles to and from the JC as she had to choose between that or having gas to keep her warm. Not to mention that the JC worker told her that she could not claim any bus fares back for the alternate weeks and was just told that she should budget better. At the JobSearch meetings that she went to, she was the only person there that was asked to attend weekly and it was there that she found out that it should be fortnightly and that you can reclaim the bus fares for the additional appointments. Such a shame that rather than helping people to find work, the JC is also helping to push people into poverty and depression.

Damn, I saw the title and was going to make a joke about an allowance calculation for calories expended.... I'm both disappointed and amazed it has been raised in all seriousness!

In which case, isn't this thread crying out for a Tebbit joke?

Our work offers mileage if you travel between sites on a bike. I think it's a good idea. I have spent £250 so far this year on my bike replacing parts.

Well, then you can say "walking isn't free". Your shoe soles get worn down, you need "extra calories" for that too, and you need to buy extra clothes, an umbrella and a scarf to keep warm

Once again, the OP isn't asking for something that's not provided elsewhere. Many organisations provide bike mileage. The general dividing line is that where some form of mechanised transport is required, mileage is covered. So if you use public transport, a car or a bike for your journey you can claim mileage. Having a machine = expense. True, yes, if people are walking long distances that does produce wear and tear. The assumption is that if it's that long a walk, you'll use a machine. And claim mileage. (The umbrella, scarf etc are red herrings on your part. It's fairly normal to have those.)

Look, this is once a week, is it not? Not every day

It's 14.60 once a week and the payment is only for every other trip. If you're on £70 which is roughly what JSA is, that's 20% of your income gone on one journey.

True, the OP could, if the situation persists, move to a larger place nearer a job centre and jobs. In the last 20 years I've lived in four cities and have recently moved to a rural area, all for work. The last move I did on the cheap. I hired a friend with a horse box. Family helped me to pack and move. I still had to stump up a larger deposit than I'd previously had and that and other associated moving costs meant a loan. The loan repayments are spread over 3 years. The job contract I moved for? That's 2 years. That is the reality of the current job market.

Most of us, however comfortably off we are, do not have that great a safety net. Illness, relationship breakdowns and redundancies can all cut deep and have a nasty habit of occurring close together. JSA is a safety net. Just be glad you don't currently need it.

If they pay travel expenses for the bus, I don't see why they shouldn't pay the wear and tear expenses for a bike. It's the same principle, and bikes and their upkeep are expensive.

The priniciple is the same for shoe leather.

If you subsidise one form of transport, then you have to consider subsidising other forms and show your reasons why you have rejected them.

Possibly that might stop short of subsidising a private jet, but no one is asking for that yet.

Gabilan maybe you should have turned up with your horse and asked for a hitching post plus mileage

Can't you just claim car mileage even though you go on your bike?

I'm sure they'll give you a bag of quavers when you arrive, just ask.