I’m a bit conflicted over the bike to work scheme and people who use it creatively.
On the one hand, if it’s abused it could be withdrawn, like the home computer scheme.
On the other hand, if it gets people cycling at all, it will save the government cash, so I don’t have a problem with people who wouldn’t otherwise buy a bike getting one on the scheme, even if they don’t use it to ride to work.
I have a bike bought under the scheme, which will only be used for commuting, shopping, etc. But, I’d have been riding to work anyway, so there isn’t a benefit to society from me getting the bike.
Also, the 50% rule is a bit silly. If I bought a road bike on the scheme and rode it to work every single day, it’d do about 1000 miles in a year for commuting, which could easily be outstripped by leisure rides.