Child-friendly bike lanes key to boosting cycling – govt report

Providing bike lanes suitable for children is a central tool for ensuring the long-term uptake of bicycles as a cornerstone of urban mobility, Germany’s national bicycle monitor has found. The bi-annual analysis of cycling habits and trends, which is conducted since 2009 and supported by the government, for the first time examined the specific needs of young cyclists, finding that early experiences of using bikes as a transport option shape later use patterns. 

“The survey shows that positive experiences at a young age are a prerequisite for long-term use,” said transport minister Patrick Schnieder. A safe and well-developed cycling infrastructure is therefore needed to improve long-term bicycle use, he added. The monitor found that nearly 90 percent of children in Germany say they enjoy cycling. Earlier uptake and parental example had been shown to increase the likelihood of people choosing to cycle as a primary form of transport also later in life.

However, bicycles are more often used for leisure than as a standard mode of transport for school commutes. The biggest hurdles to more widespread everyday cycling, according to the survey, were motorised traffic (75%), traffic density (57%) and damaged (41%) or lacking cycling lanes (35%). 

80 percent of respondents across all age groups said they considered themselves “cyclists,” with about 40 percent saying they use bicycles or e-bikes regularly. The transport ministry said cycling also remains the mode of transport with “the highest subjective potential for growth,” as more than half of participants said they plan to cycle more often. Road safety also was the main concern of older cyclists, with traffic density, excessive speeds and reckless driving being the biggest issues. 

Transport NGOs and traffic researchers have repeatedly pointed out that transport policy in Germany continues to be overwhelmingly centred on passenger cars, while other forms of mobility, including public transport, cycling or walking, receive much less funding and political support. Transport emissions in the country have not gone down noticeably since the 1990s, not least due to a sustained trend towards more and heavier passenger cars.