Münchenierung

Using the automobile in more creative ways!

2012-02-09T11:57:00.000+01:00

Since we all now that the new era of the bicyclce is slowly arriving in our cities and regions, we need to find ways to re-use the mobility vehicle of the past era (also referred to as the Bull in Society's China Schop). Luckily, we can use the automobile in more creative ways!

Interesting scientific conference: Mobil.TÜM

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000+01:00

The Technical University Munich is hosting their annual mobility conference. As always, a great number of well known international speakers will come to Munich to discuss their views on urban mobility and on the latest scientific discoveries. Really enjoyable to catch up with so many great minds! See you there? Click on the images to see them bigger (and to be able to actually read them)..

Cycling culture: it are the people, stupid!

2012-01-22T14:52:00.004+01:00

Brilliant piece from Japan on why there is a cycle culture, following a structured logic. A diversity of variables, but most importantly are the people themselves and their behaviour. What does that mean for Munich?

Directly taken from Tokyo by Bike.

What Makes Japan a Great Cycling Nation?

Mikael Coville-Anderson, of Copenhagenize fame, ranks Japan as the world's third greatest cycling nation behind the Netherlands and Denmark. But just what is it about Japan that makes cycling an attractive transport option to millions of people every day?

Cities
Japanese cities are amongst the largest and most populated in the world, but most residential neighbourhoods have their own unique small town feel. In terms of services, Japanese neighbourhoods are largely self contained. Residents have to cycle no more than 5 to 10 minutes to reach supermarkets, kindergartens, schools, doctors, dentists, in fact most necessities for everyday living are just a short ride away. Without the need to travel excessive distances for daily life’s basics, a bicycle makes perfect sense.

Public Transport
Japanese cities are crisscrossed with a fast clean and efficient train and subway system, not to mention and reliable cheap bus services. So efficient is the public transport system that it is often faster and more convenient to take the train than to travel by car. While bicycle commuters did increase after the March 11 earthquake crippled Tokyo's rail system, few people are willing to cycle more than one or two stations from their home. Many use their bicycles to compliment public transport, cycling from their home to the station.

Cars
Owning a car in Tokyo is inconvenient and expensive. Before purchasing a car the buyer is required to provide proof they have secured an appropriate parking spot. As most city dwellers have no garage hiring a parking space can be an expensive exercise, and that parking space may be many minutes walk from home. For people working in the city, commuting to work by car is not an option as some inner city parking spaces can cost more per month than a small apartment in the suburbs. Throw insurance and maintenance costs in with all that and riding a bicycle makes a lot of sense.

Bicycles
Forget expensive road, hybrid and mountain bikes, the majority of Japanese ride mama-chari, they're the family station wagon of Japan. Mama-chari cheap, and come equipped with dynamo lights, horseshoe locks and sturdy rear wheel kickstands right out of the box. While baskets on the front and racks on the back are standard the options for carrying cargo and children with the addition of accessories are limitless. Carrying two (or more) children by bicycle is not an uncommon sight. Although heavy and somewhat clunky the mama-chari is perfectly suited to the Japanese city environment, and to the tasks that millions use them for in daily life.

Laws
Japanese cycling laws are largely unenforced until such time that there is an accident. This makes for an incredibly free and liberating cycling experience. I attribute a lot of the popularity of the bicycle in Japan to the ability to cycle wherever and however you like. Confident in traffic? Ride on the road. Have child passengers? Stick to the sidewalk. Roads congested? Jump on the sidewalk and vice versa. As long as you are riding safely and with respect for others it doesn't matter how many of Japan's cycling laws (or as I like to call them "guidelines") you're breaking, just don't get into an accident.

Infrastructure
Japan has terrible bicycle infrastructure yet millions of people cycle every single day. Most suburban Japanese streets often do not have a sidewalks so pedestrians, bicycles and car are comfortable sharing the same space. Bicycle lanes are practically non existent, when there is often not enough space for even a sidewalk, how can we expect bicycle lanes? Finding a (legal) place to park is often quite difficult, so parking illegally with everyone else is the accepted norm. Despite this few people are calling for improved cycling infrastructure, and cycling is booming.

People
A big factor in making cycling work in Japan is the Japanese people themselves. For the most part incredibly patient and polite they're tolerant of the people around them. You can't live in a city with 12.9 million others without exercising some degree of tolerance and patience. Pedestrians, cyclists and cars often share the same space and that can not work unless a drivers and cyclists are prepared to travel at walking pace until a pedestrian can get out of their way.

Japanese people also have what is termed the "gaman spirit", which loosely translated is the "just get on with it" along with a "shoganai", or " what are you going to do?" attitude. So when it comes to cycling to the station in the dead of winter just get on with it, because what else can you do?

There are many factors that go into making cycling the best form of local transport in Japanese cities. Partly infrastructure, partly urban design and partly the police turning a blind eye to cycling offences when no damage is being done. But I believe it is the attitude of the Japanese people, the politeness they display to each other on the road that really makes a difference.

Cycling in Japan really is a polite form of anarchy. People ignoring the rules, cycling and parking wherever they like, yet doing their best to impact as little on others as they can. Can we replicate this success overseas?

Bicycle- vs car manufacturing

2012-01-20T13:50:00.001+01:00

This graph is provided by the European Cycling Federation and shows how strange our political fixation on cars was, is, and is increasingly becoming...

You know you have a bicycle culture, when...

2012-01-18T19:22:00.000+01:00

Another one in the series: you know you have a bicycle culture, when...

You might not believe it, but the guy in this videoclip is a popular musician at the moment in the Netherlands. You can see that a Dutch rapper does not use a big car to show off his status, but can do with a bike! And his friends as well!

Never mind the text. It is not worth translating. The only thing you need to know: "Spring maar achterop bij, achterop mijn fiets" means "Hop on my bike"... (youtube link)

How fast things can change (for good or bad)

2012-01-04T13:25:00.000+01:00

Munich is proudly presenting their tripling of cycling rates (from 6% to 18%) in recent years! Partly due to policy (hard and soft), partly due to different lifestyles and shifting personal mobility choices... We should however be aware that constant dedication is needed from all parties involved to keep up this positive trend.

We all know that China is changing in rapid, unprecedented speed. This photo series show how China is also messing things up on a massive scale. Please look and see how rapidly mainstream cycling can decline in favour of less sustainable transportation modes... Click on the image to proceed to the relevant China Underground website.

The Reverse Traffic Pyramid

2012-01-03T14:31:00.003+01:00

The Bicycle Innovation Lab closed 2011 by introducing the Reverse Traffic Pyramid. How far up the scheme are you and your city?

Cycling vs. Obesity: what will be the German future?

2011-12-21T12:26:00.001+01:00

Germany is right between the US and the Dutch. Up to decision makers to make a choice in which direction they rather move. More here.

Raising Awareness as policy instrument

2011-12-20T18:47:00.001+01:00

All they did in Malmö was asking people to reflect on their own behavior. What marvelling effects! Something to add to the Münchenierung mix?

2011-12-07T11:34:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, emotional marketing is done best by a visitor. External views remember you what is special about all the things you take for granted. See here an example of Amsterdam and the bicycle.

Interview with Transport Mayor of Munich

2011-11-29T14:17:00.002+01:00

Understanding the strength of #Münchenierung through 11 short questions and answers: how to get from 6% to 18% modal share for cycling? It is not (only) the infrastructure, stupid! Most is in focussing on re-establishing public space and about communication. Many other cities could and should take notes here.

Part 1: The reason to promote cycling over car and public transport

Part 2: The main goals of the bicycle campaign

Part 3: Hard and soft measures combined

Part 4: The Politics of promoting cycling

Part 5: Personal dynamics (promote by example)

Part 6: Reducing road space for cars

Part 7: Media changed from critical factor to supportive factor (because it works)

Part 8: How to convince difficult target groups (experimenting)

Part 9: Convert car parking to bike parking

Part 10: Accompanying measures (such as speed limits)

Part 11: Building infra not always necessary: creative solutions

Is Munich the new Amsterdam?

2011-11-29T13:57:00.016+01:00

A message from the European Cyclists' Federation shows the respect they have for Munichs strategy to increase urban cycling. It is becoming a more and more well known fact that Munich is the leader in combining infrastructure with behavioural nudging, communication, and marketing efforts (known as the #Münchenierung mix). Through this, Munich achieved a threefold increase in cycling for the costs of building 1 kilometer of freeway! For those not aware of how this is done and what it means, check the video we made about the Radlhauptstadt campaign some time ago.

This leads to a remarkable effectiveness score: tripling the number of cyclists with almost no monetary costs (compared to other strategies).You can read the integral text of what the ECF thinks of it and what other cities can learn after the break.
Is Munich Europe’s Next Amsterdam? A Threefold Increase in Cyclists
By Fabian Kuster

When you talk about cycling in Germany, thoughts generally drift to the northern cycling city of Bremen with a modal share of almost 30%. Munich however is fast catching up…A recent article in one of Germany’s most respected daily newspapers, the ‘Sueddeutsche’, has shown that cycling has almost tripled since 1996, from 6 % to 17.4% today, a truly remarkable effort.At ECF, we’re very interested in such pro-cycling developments as we’ve been closely tracking cycling policy in the Bavarian capital.

Back in 2007, Munich hosted our Velo-city conference, which is often a catalyst, or a signal that bicycle change is on the way. The Mayor now believes that that “one of the central messages of the 2007 Velo-city Conference was don’t only build infrastructure,” and that “It’s also necessary to have soft measures and that means communication and information”.

In any case, there’s little doubt that the Mayor jumped right onto the cycling bandwagon after hosting the event as you can see in an Interview below. See the entire interview here.

Promising Statistics

Although there’s little doubt that the city still has some way to go in bringing its infrastructure up to the standards of its northern cousins, statistics look promising:

Growth in cycling did not come at the expense of public transport which increased over the last 3 years from 21 to 22.8 %.

Car use decreased from 29 % in 2002 to a remarkably low 22.9 % in 2011. (To put this into perspective, Brussels has around a 65 % car split).

It would appear that even a car crazed nation like Germany knows that the urban travel by bicycle is the both the quickest and most efficient way to get from A to B.

At what price?

So how much did all this cost? Well, the budget for cycling is about €10 million annually: 95 % infrastructure, 5 % campaigning, known in Germany as “Radlhauptstadt”. This is remarkably low, especially considering that building 1 km of freeway costs somewhere between €5-10 million. Munich, it appears, is making the right moves.

Tomorrow good cycling conditions!

2011-11-28T13:01:00.001+01:00

(via Fietsberaad)
‘Tomorrow good cycling weather!’ Employers might consider sending such an e-mail message to their employees to promote commuting by bicycle. This is one of the recommendations from the Ph.D. thesis of Eva Heinen from TU Delft about commuting by bicycle.

Her doctoral research focussed on the motives of commuters to use or disregard their bicycles. It is not only the weather that affects the daily decision to cycle or not to cycle, but also intermediate stops between home and place of employment, transportation of materials, being dressed in a suit and working at multiple locations, according to Heinen. A decision in favour of the bicycle is only partly affected by ‘hard’ issues like cost, distance and household characteristics. These do not explain why people in comparable situations come to different decisions about commuting by bicycle or not.

Heinen states that individual considerations and convictions affect the decision to cycle to a major degree. ‘For instance immediate benefits, (environmental) awareness and safety. Standards in the social environment are important as well.’‘The attitude of the employer and colleague expectations play a role as well’, according to Heinen. ‘Chances for people to cycle increase when the place of employment possesses an indoor bicycle parking facility or a changing room. Not only due to the facility itself, but also due to the positive attitude this demonstrates towards cycling.’

Heinen emphasises that different groups of cyclists base their decisions on different factors. ‘When promoting cycling these different groups may be motivated in different ways. I have distinguished three possible changes: from non-cyclists to cyclists, from occasional to frequent cyclists and from part-time to full-time cyclists.’
Heinen’s thesis lists a number of possibilities to promote commuting by bicycle. ‘When an employer limits the provisions for other modes of transport, he will promote bicycle use. Employers might therefore take the negative effects on cycling into account when promoting public transport or private cars.’

But in order to change cycling behaviour Heinen feels that not only bicycle-friendly facilities and infrastructure are necessary, but individual convictions and social standards should support cycling as well. A well-respected person may serve as role model and stimulus for others.

"Every morning, I go to work with my bike"

Another beautiful bicycle video

2011-11-14T20:57:00.001+01:00

A video to bring across the message of the Holstee Manifesto: a call to action to live a life full of intention, creativity, passion, and community. And obviously, it uses cyclist to bring this mesage across. Leaving us with another beautiful bicycle video to watch and share! Again, the message of the emotional marketing is clear. Just as cars, bikes are perfectly acceptable modes of transport for successful and happy people. However, unlike driving a car, the bicycle caters for social interaction and fosters communities. That is something you do not (and will not) see in your car commercials... (via People for Bikes)

The LifeCycle Film came about as a desire to bring the energy and passion behind the Manifesto to life through something we love--biking. As we seek to live mindful lifestyles that leave a positive impact on the people and world around us, biking has become a passion that is much more than a transportation alternative. It is a way of fully experiencing the city we love and all of its details. This Film is a celebration. It is a celebration of gatherings, of diversity, of life, and of the beauty of shared experience. We hope you enjoy.

Stepping up ambition: bicycle street is a first step...

2011-10-30T21:12:00.000+01:00

...and not the last! It should never be our final goal to create bicycle streets here and there. We need to see them as stepping stones to our wider ambitions. Let's celebrate that more and more cities are developing bicycle streets (where the role of the car is back to what it should be: a guest that has to adapt to others).

Below, find some ideas for new road signs that can help us in thinking more ambitious. For almost no costs (compare with infra) a very strong message can be send to those that enter our cities, neighborhoods, regions and/or countries. They are based on the Dutch sign for Fietsstraten that was elected as the best out of a series. Feel free to use and improve them!

Compulsory helmets: NEIN, danke...

2011-10-28T11:04:00.000+02:00

In the emerging discussion about making helmets compulsory for cyclists in Germany, this blog has a clear standpoint. I was planning to write all arguments down this weekend: It is an extreme and classic form of ignoring the bull in society's china shop as so well explained by Mikael on the Copenhagenize website. The effects on emerging bicycle cultures such as Munich can possibly be devastating (exactly as some big industries would like to see). It doesn't increase safety, but makes a perfectly healthy mode of transport look unsafe in favour of the others. Luckily, somebody else made a thorough analysis of why we shouldn't want to go along with this: Please read Paul Jakma and raise your awareness on the issue.Helmplicht? Nein, danke...

Maybe we should have people were compulsory wigs or look compulsory as human as possible. That actually IS improving safe behaviour of car drivers (aka the ones that actually kill and endanger others).

[INSTANT UPDATE] Stev Hughes take on Health and Safety fits in nicely here. Enjoy:

Munich students show they have brains: they cycle!

2011-10-26T17:22:00.000+02:00

A recent research under the students on the Munich Universities on their mobility choices shows some remarkable results. A general message that comes across is that the 'peak-car' hypothesis (great books that I recommend are After the Car and Carjacked) that is gaining popularity under scientists is very much supported: the new generation of decision makes and leading people are not seeing the car as something to aspire to any more. Instead they are making the logical choice to use the bicycle within the city! An inspiring element of Münchenierung, so please take note...

Based on: Munich student have tight thighs because of cycling (via)
This study (mid Juli, computer based questionnaire among 200 students; average age: 24) shows that 44% of the academic students use the bicycle as a transport means on a daily basis (or as much as possible). An astonishing 74% state to use the bicycle on a regular basis. And that considering the fact that 90% of them have a drivers license. One in two male students and two thirds of female students even own a car or have one available for them. Most of them (57%) only use it very little.

Important to notice that it is culture rather than infrastructure that seems to be a leading reason: Only 16% of the cycling students considers the traffic situation 'very good', within 69% percent stating it as "good". This means that every one of three cycling students consider the traffic situation "under par". Female cyclists consider it worse than their male peers. 87% think that the city should do more to increase the safety of cycling: more infrastructure is requested by 91%, better quality by 82%. Another 65% want more parking facilities and 62% root for more capacity to take the bicycle on Public Transport.

to be continued...hopefully (-_-)

Another infographic from Bicycle Land

2011-10-26T10:44:00.000+02:00

This time by the Lonely Planet (via wel ingelichte kringen). Again, can you spot the difference with Germany?

Amsterdam infographic: how does Munich compare?

2011-10-24T14:57:00.000+02:00

Who can add information about Munich compared to aspects in this infographic?via @KimHarding and Easyjet.

History of Dutch cycling: Protest & Infrastructure

2011-10-21T14:56:00.000+02:00

How the Dutch arrived in a short term to their current bicycle infrastructure. A story about the role of active people, of dedicated planners and strong politicians. The problems were recent and not unique, the solutions shouldn't be that either.

Mo.bility: a new concept of being mobile

2011-10-13T18:18:00.000+02:00

A fine example of what future urban mobility could look like. Leaving behind the concept of ownership...Looking forward to your comments on it:

Bicycle path characteristics that matter: a study from Brazil

2011-10-09T14:46:00.000+02:00

A new and interesting paper was published in this weeks Transportation. It assesses which kind of cahracteristics of infrastructure are most important. So, if Munich is planning to improve their network, these scientific insights could be highly valuable. Read my abstract below (and if you want the entire article, let me know in the comments and I´ll send it to you).

Roadway and traffic characteristics for bicycling

By: Janice Kirner Providelo and Suely da Penha Sanches

(via)

The promotion of bicycling is part of the current strategy of urban planning and transport, in which one of the goals is to reverse urban problems caused by the excessive use of the car, such as congestion, air quality degradation and increase of energy consumption. Other advantages of using the bicycle as a mode of transport include: greater equity (between members of society) in the provision of access to activities, due to reduced costs of this mode of transport, and the possibility of promoting a more physically active lifestyle for the population.

One of the ways to promote bicycle transportation is to provide suitable infrastructure for cyclists. In order to determine if a road is suitable for bicycling or not, and what improvements need to be made to increase the level of service for bicycles on specific situations, it is important to know how cyclists perceive the characteristics that define the roadway environment.

It was verified that the most important characteristic in the evaluation of quality of roads for bicycling was (1) lane width, followed by (2) motor vehicle speed, (3) visibility at intersections, (4) presence of intersections and (5) street trees. Therefore, the research suggests that to promote bicycle in roadways of shared traffic in Brazilian medium-sized cities, these attributes must be prioritized by providing larger lane width, reducing motor vehicle speed, increasing visibility at intersections, reducing the number of intersections and increasing the number of street trees, to guarantee more shading on the roads.

The results show that both the roadway and traffic characteristics related to segments and those related to intersections are important to the respondents. In addition, there was no pattern in which the survey participants preferred one of the thematic categories from the focus group discussion (traffic, infrastructure, conflicts, and environment) over another. One of the interesting findings is that, for these survey participants, the motor vehicle speed is more important than the motor vehicle volume, meaning that they are willing to ride a bicycle sharing the road with a great number of cars, if those are travelling at lower speeds, and as long as the lane is wide.

Further studies on this topic could contribute to the understanding of the opinion of users and potential users on the quality of roads for bicycling. As a suggestion, other surveys focusing different profiles of participants, or including different attributes, would be recommended.

(Mis)use of bicycle in commercials (continuing)

2011-10-08T19:25:00.000+02:00

A long time no posting in this domain, but today I saw another great example of using the bicycle as a cultural trigger in a commercial. And again, an Electric Supplier is the company that wants to appeal to the deepest aspects of a cycling nation (the Netherlands, that is). Please notice that you even don't need to wear a helm when you cycle like this in the Netherlands! (Other companies that use the bicycle to sell their products Sawadi traveling here, AGIS insurance and Roosvicee here, PickwickTea here, and even Volkswagen here). Enjoy!

Woman: "The wind helps us"
Man: "Because it is almost always blows in the Netherlands"
Woman: "...hard, even" (edit: really, I am not making this up)
Man: "That is why Eneco introduces a new poduct: Dutch wind"
Woman: "That is wind energy, with an annual discount"
Man: "The stronger the wind, the higher your discount"
Woman: "Enjoy this discount, go to Eneco.nl and switch"
Man: "Together we go for sustainability"

Steve job tribute: "Computers are bicycles for the mind"

2011-10-06T09:29:00.000+02:00

A sad day for humanity, we lost a great inventor...As he stated himself in the video below, he praises humanity for building tools to overcome our shortcomings and expand our capabilities to extremes. For locomotion, the bicycle triumphed, for cognition the computer did (with a great deal by the work of Jobs)...

Vilnius mayor wins Ig Nobel peace prize

2011-09-30T22:47:00.000+02:00

Remember the mayor of Vilnius? He was just awarded the Ig Nobel peace prize for running over badly parked cars with a tank (see the video here). Apparently, cyclists in this city now have to face much less cars that are parked in their lane...

Bicycle Photo of the Week: TV while cycling

2011-09-26T14:10:00.000+02:00

Who said you need to choose between an active mode of transportation and passively watching TV for the afternoon (click on image to see original)?

Dutch Cycling Embassy launch video

2011-09-23T11:15:00.000+02:00

A short documentary about how the Dutch cities reached their current bicycle status. Which ideas can you apply to Munich?

Munich 6th on the Copenhagenize Index

2011-09-21T11:23:00.000+02:00

Copenhagenize has scored global cities on their bike friendliness and offers some free fixes for problems that are recognized. Berlin still outranks Munich by one point, but Munich seen as the biggest potential competitor for Amsterdam (1) and Copenhagen (2).

Munich especially got kudo's for its marketing focus (Münchenierung), but now a broader vision is called for (including reclaiming space on the streets from cars, also recognized here earlier this week). Also, see why other cities score high and use this knowledge to see how your own city can be improved.

[Instant update]: See also the interpretation on the Spiegel website.

To whom the streets should really belong!

2011-09-20T16:13:00.000+02:00

In last weeks SPIEGEL magazine, the 'battle' for the streets of urban Germany was a central theme. The biggest and most influential magazine of Germany addresses the problematic state of current urban centres and ways to improve this. As you, being a reader of this blog, already know, the bicycle plays a very central role in these urban future. Below, I translated the editorial of the special and added my interpretation here and there. I hope, we can have some fruitful discussions based on it!

To whom the streets should really belong.

Congestion, noise, streets clogged with parked cars – Germans metropolises are the hell for car drivers, although urban planners always wanted to make their life easy. If you want to see smart concepts for all people, you have to observe other countries. Then, you will see that even a bit of orderliness can help.

What is the ideal city? While one is dreaming of the narrow streets of Rome, another feels best in busy Manhattan, while a third votes for the beautiful promenades of Paris or Budapest. All these fantasies have one thing in common; the city is first of all a place where people meet. They sit in bars or public squares, walk by shops or observe passers-by. We are social creatures and the city is our territory.

But how does this relate to reality? In Germany’s metropolises one trembles over clogged streets with parked cars, congestion and noise. Over decades infrastructure is extended and adapted - first and foremost in favour of cars. Mostly this has only offered some relief for a short period of time.

Transport planners must learn: wider streets attract more cars, and even wider streets even more [i]! Curiously enough, the construction of new streets is in many places still the main recipe to solve traffic problems. Yet, if we want to make cities into places in which people feel good and safe we must change this perspective. As for example architect Jan Gehl from Copenhagen did. His axiom is: cities are there for the people. These people obviously have to mobile as well, but preferably in a way that doesn’t ruin the urban life of others.

The car is a highly practical mode of transport; especially to leave the city and to cover long distances. When several individuals travel in it and the engine is fuel-economic, a car even has a better CO2-balance then a train. However, in narrow urban centres space is scarce. Here, car drivers could and should not expect a green wave of traffic lights and an easy parking spot.

Troublemaker or problem solver?

In concepts for the future of the city, the car therefore plays a minor role: less car lanes on the streets in favour of wider footpaths, bicycle paths and places designed for people to hang around. “We have to invite people to walk and cycle”, says Gehl. When we offer attractive alternatives, people will choose to leave the car behind. Copenhagen is an example of such policies. The city centre became a huge car free zone. At the start, shop and restaurant owners were heavily against such plans. Until they noticed that more pedestrians meant higher profits. The majority of Copenhagen residents commute to the office or to the university by bicycle [ii]. No surprise, with such an excellent network of bicycle paths. Gehl’s architecture firm nowadays advices many metropolises all over the globe. New York, Dublin, São Paulo - his ideas of a modern people-oriented urban future are implemented worldwide.

Such concepts are currently not a part of Germany’s strategies. In many communities and at the ministry, mobility still mostly relates to the car and the train [iii]. Pedestrians and cyclists are troublemakers that should do it with red-brick pathways.

At the same time, the bicycle offers a huge potential: it uses much less road space [iv]. Depending on the calculations, cyclists use between one sixth and one eight of the space that a car uses. Cyclists are also very fast, especially on short distances [v], and the bicycle offers direct access to the destination.

Bicycle paths have absolute priority

The bicycle has one clear disadvantage over the car: a cyclist is vulnerable for weather conditions. If we look at the Netherlands however, we see that rain has almost no effect on passionate cyclists whether they are student or work at a bank. An Amsterdam resident accepts wet pants now and then because of all the advantages that cycling offers [vi]. Even snow and ice are not able to stop cyclists – as we see in Copenhagen. Their bicycle paths are cleared first in the morning, even before the car lanes.

Bicycles are even perfectly suited to transport groceries, large furniture and lazy grandchildren around the city. Best equipped for this are the three-wheeled bicycles, as for instance the legendary Christiania bicycles from Copenhagen [vii]. In Copenhagen, more than 30.000 of such bicycles are part of the fleet. These vehicles have a big transport box with rain cover in which there is more than enough space for two or three children or for several crates of beer.

Many German cities offer comparable conditions for cyclists as Copenhagen or Amsterdam: there are almost no mountains and short average distances (except maybe in Berlin) [viii]. What is missing, are consistent pro-cycling policies [ix] - and also a different behaviour on the streets. Although the Germans perfected the garbage separation system, when we are on our way to our office we don’t want to hear from rules and turn into egoistic bullies. A red light is for many cyclists no reason to stop; the pedestrians and car drivers should just watch out. These car drivers don’t ignore a red light because they are afraid for penalties. However they interpret other rules to their own liking; they push people aside, park their car illegally or use the public transport lane to pass others. Everything out of self-defence, they claim.

Why can’t we be as orderly as the Danish when we are on the road? They really stop at a red light, accept and respect the pedestrians and public transport lanes – and drive decently [x]. Copenhagen ranks top three in the ‘Monocle’ magazine’s ranking of cities with the highest living quality [xi]. This has partly to do with the well organised bicycle traffic.

Missing in this logic (according to Münchenierung):

Cycling is not (only/at all) about rational considerations. It also helps if it is considered cool/normal and people do it because it makes them happy.
It has not always been so perfect in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Only, during the 70s and 80s it changed. But not per se due to planners and urban designers (who love to believe in ‘nurture’ over ‘nature’). They were mostly following sentiments and behaviour of the people themselves, at least in Amsterdam, where there really was urban warfare against new car oriented plans that were destroying the urban fabric (read for instance this piece from a visiting San Francisco bicycle expert). We should be aware of this to prevent of seeing Amsterdam as a far off utopia; it has just made different choices fairly recently! Although, a recent survey I did in Amsterdam showed that on many crossings (although the amount of cyclists clearly exceeds the amount of cars) the design is still car centric. Almost 40% of left turning cyclists find their own route in contrast to what is designed for them (Zipfs law of least effort). The lack of car service on a higher level and of decent public transport, combined with a positive culture and short average distance seem much more important though. Nature and nurture seem to go hand in hand in this development, as they should in all contexts (i.e. link your local policies to the local nature of your place and people)

Notes by me

[i] Explained by the theoretical concepts of induced traffic and latent demand; people accept a fixed travel time budget and if the speed of travelling increases (e.g. by wider roads), they use the benefit to move further away or switch from other modes

[ii] True? When majority of commuters: yes, when also more vulnerable people are included: no.

[iii] Not in Munich, where the bicycle is an integral part of long and short term strategy making.

[iv] and urban space in general.

[v] up to ten kilometer, depending on the urban context.

[vi] and because of rain clothing, shower possibilities at work and a cultural acceptance of arriving wet now and then. And it almost never rains anyway.

[vii] Or the original high quality ones of the Amsterdam based Fietsfabriek.

[viii] These aspects seem to play a large role, although Pucher and his colleaugues found that in low density areas in Germany much more people use the bicycle than in the United States. I believe that also status and culture are important variables. Both ‘average distance’ and culture and much better predictors of the amount of cycling than for instance infrastructure. In many Dutch and German cities the quality of the cycling infrastructure is inversely proportional to the distance to the city centre. The amount of cycling decreases almost always sharply though.

[ix] essential that this is combined with anti-car policies as push factors.

[x] Don’t forget that Amsterdam cycling is also mainly disobedient to rules (adagium there is “red is the new green”), but the mass of cyclists created an overhand, so cars HAVE to obey and slow down. Also, the sheer number of cyclists make it highly safe.

[xi] Munich ranks almost as high or higher each year (1st in 2009 and 2011)

The Bike as luxury status symbol

2011-09-17T15:08:00.000+02:00

A blogpost on The Urban Country Bicycle Blog takes one of the main principles of policy and practice in Munich and assesses its potential: Increasing the emotional status of the bicycle.A short excerpt and a link to the full article below:

One of the biggest barriers to increasing bicycle transportation in many western countries is the fact that it is difficult to express one’s wealth and status on a bicycle. People are generally drawn towards people who appear wealthy (even if wealth is often just an illusion in our personal debt-ridden society).

A luxury automobile is the easiest way to express one’s wealth to strangers in the public realm. Luxury cars are indeed head-turning, attention-grabbing toys, and they allow men to compensate for their own insecurity or other personal deficiencies.

Rightly or wrongly, this is how our society works, and using a bicycle often leads people to believe a person is choosing this method of transportation due to their inability to afford a car.(more here)

Banning Bierbike makes sense (or does it?)

2011-09-14T11:46:00.000+02:00

It always seemed bad advertisement for normal cycling culture to me. What do you think?

copied from goingoingbike

With Octoberfest just a month away, the city of Munich has put the brakes on the bicycle-orientated drinking vehicles commonly known as Bierbikes.
Officials in Munich reacted to complaints from residents and motorists about the rowdy behaviour on the Bierbikes as well the traffic congestion the vehicles cause and have now banned Bierbikes on “public streets, paths and squares”.

Cheers

A Bierbike typically has four wheels and is navigated by a steering wheel. They move by power generated from the pedalling of 12 individuals on the vehicles. The vehicles weigh more than two tons and have a length of around 16 feet so they are not an easy thing to get past, especially when they travel at 6mph.
On top of this, locals/drivers also have to deal with up to 15 drunk men/women getting steadily more drunk with loud music blaring out (A Bierbike rental includes a sober driver). The Bierbikes can hold up to 20 litres of beer, which is about 42 pints.

Fighting back

You can probably understand why Munich and 40 other German cities/towns want to see the back of the Bierbikes trade on their streets, but tourist firms who run Bierbike vehicles are fighting back.
An operator in Dusseldorf had taken the cities’ metropolitan authority to court over the strict permit rules that the city imposed on providers of the Bierbikes and won, but now Dusseldorf authorities are back in court to make sure the permit rules are upheld.
Operators argue that the Bierbikes are a major tourist attraction for German cities in the summer.

Cycling marketing campaigns: critical factors

2011-09-13T14:43:00.000+02:00

Linda van de Sande wrote a blogpost for Münchenierung from her perspective as an environmental psychologist. She reflects on cycle marketing campaigns and what (theoretically) makes them successful! Munich is faring really well!

Growing awareness of community benefits of cycling makes that cities around the world are eager to hop on the saddle. People in cycle cities are better educated, happier, healthier, more creative and enjoy higher incomes, according to Richard Florida. Copenhagen found that ‘every mile cycled provides the equivalent of 41 cents in social benefits to the community, whereas every mile driven exacts about 24 cents in costs on society’.

Yet despite the campaigns, for many cycling is not a realistic means of transportation. Riding a bike is for children, poor people or people with a death wish. No self-respecting, reasonably affluent adult will go without the comfort and status of the automobile.

So how do we change that? The conventional perspective is that individuals are rational beings in social isolation that are influenced purely by price and information. Two important lessons from psychology come into play here: purely rational arguments are not enough to change behaviour; ‘soft’ factors such as norms, control, efficacy and affect need to be taken into account. Secondly, targeting individual perception is not enough to change behaviour. Our decisions, values and actions are guided by interactions with friends, families and co-workers. Social factors strongly affect individual transport decisions.

So what does this mean for cycling campaigns? As an environmental psychologist, I believe the success of a behaviour change campaign lies in its ability to tackle three components in unison: Message, context and network.

A campaign should have a strong and memorable message that is appealing, relevant and valid to the target audience. This one is probably too obvious, but many campaigns appeal only to people who cycle already. Show that riding is easy and fun. Suggest concrete actions, for example ride 15 mins each day. Focus on positive new behaviour, instead of avoiding the negative, i.e. don’t drive. Encourage small changes, don’t expect people to sell their car tomorrow.

A campaign should also consider the context of the behavior. In the case of cycling, both the physical and political environment should facilitate the behaviour. One program was ineffective because road conditions remained unfriendly. Another bike sharing program is frustrated by legislation on mandatory bike helmets. Build cycle lanes, offer bicycle parking, bike sharing programs and get political and legislative support for the initiative.

A campaign should also tap into social networks. Address social factors, social norms and opinions in the message, show opinion leaders, charismatic early adopters and exemplary citizens. Facilitate riding groups, organize social events. Make cyclists visible. Creating a critical mass is the component that can make or break a campaign. When more people cycle, more people will cycle!

A documentary on the effects of cycling “Way of Life”

2011-08-05T11:09:00.000+02:00

(via) (thanks To Linda van de Sande for the tip)

In the past few years a growing number of cities worldwide have been (re)discovering the use of the bicycle. Sustainability plays a large role in the motivation behind the revival of the bicycle and takes on different challenges, placing itself in a new and relevant social position. The question then remains whether or not the revitalization and new positioning of the bicycle could contribute to the livability of society.

The documentary Genre De Vie researches the present effects of this form of transport and the lifestyle that is attached to it though research into already existing initiatives that play a crucial role in the revitalization of the bicycle. By taking a global perspective the documentary makers form a clear view on the transformation of cities and urban living. Concentrating also on the effects of the bicycle from a socio-cultural standing point within the individual is central.

Genre De Vie is a documentary that focuses mainly on city’s that already promote a pro bicycle lifestyle. This coming from a viewpoint, that the bicycle is a positive development on the social and environmental structure and hence of profound effect on the living quality of its inhabitance. The documentary concentrates on individuals that plan yearly races in the post-industrial landscape of the city, and the sociological processes in which the bike plays a pivotal role. It also focuses on the more general role of the bicycle with regards to personal experience and use of space.

Filmmakers
Sven Prince and Jorrit Spoelstra started working as bike couriers in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. By experiencing the city in this way they developed a unique relationship with their direct surroundings. As time went on they realized that this unique view caused their appreciation for their city and surrounding to grow substantially and take on new forms. On a later date Sven Prince went on to study Social Geography at the University of Utrecht. During this same period Jorrit Spoelstra was inspired and effected by the interaction between the bicycle and the experience of space, using these influences in his work as a director and editor of documentary’s.

Genre De Vie
The well known geographer Vidal de la Blanche introduced the concept of ‘genre de vie’ (way of life) in the beginning of the 20th century. During this period the dominant view was that the greatest factor in determining lifestyle was ones natural surroundings. Videl added to this popular theory by stating that the personal meaning of one’s surroundings could be quite diverse, hence the reactions to ones surrounding can differ from person to person. Vidal was not a great believer of the social whole but was a front runner in the idea that people have a unique and individual relationship and reaction to the same surroundings.

New spot by Dutch Fietsersbond

2011-08-04T15:31:00.000+02:00

Also, the Dutch cyclist Union is now following the global trend of emotional marketing in a positive way. If you are looking for helmets....they are missing!

Such an approach is needed to get to a situation as here.

What bringing children to school can look like: An Amsterdam example

2011-08-04T13:44:00.000+02:00

I recently shot a short video of the arrival of parents and children at a typical elementary school in Amsterdam (location here). I challenge you to find the single parent that arrived by car!

Breathtaking marketing film for bicycles

2011-08-03T13:11:00.000+02:00

This is how it should be done. Strange to see a thing so familiar to you in such a beautiful way. The music, the imagery, the roles and the story: simply perfect! (via)

Cars parked on bikepath are irritating

2011-08-02T14:03:00.000+02:00

This is why the Vilnius mayor is fighting them...literally....Come on mayors of the world, show us you cojones!

Foreign example: Bicycle parking in Amsterdam

2011-08-01T15:26:00.000+02:00

If your city officials complain about the "bike parking problem", your are doing great! This is Amsterdam's central square (Dam) on a sunday afternoon. And no, there is no Radlmarkt or whatever....(via)

Post-Race portraits by e r t z u i ° film

2011-08-01T13:19:00.000+02:00

via. A nice little video of a photo shoot of cyclists. See all those happy faces:

The resulting photos can be seen on their Flickr website when you click the image below. e r t z u i ° film is also on Facebook.

Bicycle Photo of the Week: Cargobike for Car oriented Germany!

2011-07-28T12:59:00.000+02:00

via and via

Bike versus Public Transport vs Car

2011-07-25T18:22:00.000+02:00

We saw a similar example on this blog earlier. Now, Amsterdam West joins the Top Gear style marketing. A race between a cyclist, a car driver and one person on public transport. They all go to the shop on a regular. It is all in Dutch, but you can leave in the comments who you think won....

When are we going to make such a movie for Munich? Although it seems to focus on rational reasons (speed, time) it actually shows all the emotional markers that are needed to convince people of the bike.

Münchenierung inspires internationally: the Dutch copy German campaign

2011-07-22T10:42:00.000+02:00

One aspect of a successful urban marketing campaigns is the rate of copy-cats. In that respect the concept of emotional marketing that is at the heart of Münchenierung and the Radlhauptstadt campaign is really becoming an international hit. We already discussed Gent's campaign and now even a Dutch city is jumping on the bandwagon (or should we say cargobike). Wigand von Sassen's visit might have something to do with this...

Helmond: an ambitious city in the Netherlands (21 % cycling rate)
Translated from Fietsberaad

Following similar campaigns in Germany and Belgium, Helmond started a bicycle-image campaign, based on photos of "ordinary cyclists".

In Germany, the Radlstar campaign, in which posters of ordinary cyclists were used to show that cycling is for everybody was a success.And in Gent (Belgium) a similar campaign is currently running, making pictures of random cyclists and their bikes and using these for promotion. Helmond (Netherlands) now comes with a a variation on this theme. Visitors if the city center could climb their bikes and let their legs be photographed. With these photos they could join in on the competition for "The Most Beautiful Bicycle Legs of Helmond". This action is part of a bigger campaign called "Why? Because you can" - Helmond cycles" with which the municipality wants to show its inhabitants that cycling is healthy, environmentally friendly, cheaper (especially in the city center), but also just nice.'Cycling is not only a fast means of transport through the city, but also a nice way to warm up"says Helmond. The price will be awarded next week, just before the profs from the Tour de France will ride their criterium 'Profronde van Stipthout".

As Münchenierung (i.e. policy to increase cycling based on emotional marketing) is catching on so fast, the campaign leaders should think about trademarking it! Even Amsterdam seems to be getting it more and more (see video below)

It can never be only marketing..

2011-07-03T11:46:00.000+02:00

While Muenchenierung puts the marketing efforts of the Munich bicycle strategy central, we are aware that this is part of a larger vision. The marketing part is what Munich brings to the mix of policy instruments. Also, the city is active on other fronts. We already wrote about segregated infrastructure, car related initiatives and parking.

Another important ingredient of the policy mix is changing building codes. A recent change forces new housing to provide decent parking space for bicycles. Every 40 square meter of new house, 1,5 square meter of bicycle parking needs to be developed. When cycling is more catered for, more people will use it as their urban transport mode and less cars will clog the streets.

An important secondary goal, since Tomtom showed that Munich is the most congested city of Germany! Remarkable fact if you see the massive car infrastructure in the city. Although we know for ages that more infra just leads to more congestion. "Tackling congestion by building more roads is like fighting obesity by loosening the belt". The "we need more roads" paradigm is like a pair of fighting Carls (see video below)

Foreign example: Graphic brilliance from LA

2011-07-01T10:36:00.000+02:00

A very beautiful graphic of why and how to move LA from car to public transport. But, why not make the final leap and make it into a bicycle city? Who is going to make such a nice thing for Munich?

Started in Munich, now taking over the world

2011-06-19T22:44:00.000+02:00

An interview with Michael Vogt, the owner of stilrad in Welt Online (crude translation in english here). How the idea that cycling is actually cool is slowly but surely conquering Germany and then...the world. Also a part of the münchenierung movement!

"Ich Radle, also bin ich"

Fahrrad fahren ist längst keine Mühsal mehr, sondern cool. Oberstes Gebot der neuen Massenbewegung auf zwei Rädern: Stil geht über Geschwindigkeit. Brenda Strohmaier hat die urbane Fahrradkultur erkundet

Vor ein paar Jahren fuhr der Münchner Michael Vogt noch ein gigantisches Auto. Ein "besonders schlimmes SUV-Modell", wie er zugibt, einen BMW X5 4,8iS. Gewicht: 2,3 Tonnen. Benzinverbrauch: gut 17 Liter auf 100 Kilometer. Ausgerechnet dieser Michael Vogt, inzwischen 40 Jahre alt und Vater von drei, bald sogar vier Kindern, steht jetzt in einem neuen Berliner Fahrradladen, seinem Fahrradladen "Stilrad". Und klingt zeitweise wie ein Gründungsmitglied des Allgemeinen Deutschen Fahrrad-Clubs: "Autofahren ist aggressiv, mühsam und schlecht für den Planeten." Was er dann sagt, hört sich schon weniger nach Umweltmission alter Schule an: "Wir müssen das Rad sexy machen, nur dann steigen die Leute vom Auto aufs Rad um und erzwingen eine neue Infrastruktur." Ginge es nach ihm, gäbe es auf den Straßen noch viel mehr Platz für Räder, sowohl zum Fahren als auch zum Parken. Er ist nicht allein mit seinem Wunsch: Schon jetzt werden in manchen Städten die Fahrradplätze knapp, so viele Menschen haben in den vergangenen Jahren beschlossen, aufs Rad umzusteigen. Und immer mehr Radler kutschieren - wie Vogt - Kinder und Einkäufe mit Transporträdern durch die Gegend. Je mehr Leute radeln, desto wichtiger wird das Thema Fahrrad und das zugehörige Lebensgefühl, von dem Vogt nun profitiert.

Der Münchner und seine Geschäftspartnerin Tina Umbach zeigen in Berlin-Mitte bei "Stilrad", wie das Fahrrad sogar zum Fetisch werden kann. Das Konzept für ihren Laden, den sie "Showroom" nennen, haben sie bereits in München und Zürich erprobt. In der Tat hat ihr Shop wenig mit traditionellen Fahrradgeschäften gemeinsam, in denen es nach Werkstatt riecht und Kunden sich durch einen Korridor an Rädern vorbei zum Tresen zwängen. Bei Stilrad hängen die Modelle wie Exponate im Museum vor weißen Wänden, genauer: Sie schweben an einer Aufhängung von der Decke. Da funkelt ein silbernes Rennrad von Cooper, daneben baumelt ein kantiges Stadtvelo von Vanmoof, in dessen Rahmen sich das Schloss versenken lässt. Es sind Räder, die so besonders, so schön sind, dass in den Augen der Berliner, die den Laden begutachten, das Begehren heftig funkelt. Dann wird klar, wofür Fahrradliebhaber das Wort vom "Bike Porn" prägen.

Radeln ist keine Mühsal mehr, sondern cool. Wenn Luxusresorts mit Mülltrennung werben und Frauenzeitschriften regelmäßig Ökomode präsentieren, muss umweltfreundliche Fortbewegung chic sein. Spätestens seit dem Jahr 2008, in dem die Modehäuser Chanel, Gucci und Armani Räder mit ihrem Logo auf den Markt brachten, ist klar, dass die Modewelt das Rad neu erfinden möchte. Just ließ die Schweizer Männermodemarke Strellson sich vom Fahrradhersteller Bianchi ein Modell designen, ein karg ausgestattetes Eingangrad, das wie viele neue Räder an ein Kurierfahrrad erinnert. Dazu gehört eine Kollektion namens "Rolling Style" mit radtauglicher Kleidung wie einem Wasser und Schmutz abweisenden Businessanzug. Strellson schreibt dazu: "Auf dem Weg ins Büro ist das Fahrrad als coolstes und umweltfreundlichstes Fortbewegungsmittel inzwischen ohne Konkurrenz." Doch Radfahren ist viel mehr als zeitgemäßes Angeben. Es trifft einen Nerv. Wohl jeder Radler kennt dieses Gefühl, durch die frische Luft zu sausen, seinen Körper zu spüren, die Welt im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes zu erfahren. Was für eine Wohltat gerade für Menschen, die den ganzen Tag auf Bildschirme starren. Die neue Lust am Rad ist auch jene Freude am Ursprünglichen, die Dauertrends wie Kochen, Gärtnern und das Hobby-Handwerk neu belebte und Magazine wie "Landlust" so erfolgreich macht.

Nun ist allmählich auch der Kult ums richtige Rad auf dem besten Weg, zu einer eigenen Kultur zu werden. Blogger, Wissenschaftler und viele neue Fahrradmagazine liefern reichlich geistigen Überbau und Anschauungsmaterial zur neuen Straßenverkehrsordnung. Allen voran die Dänen. In Kopenhagen, wo bereits ein Drittel der Bewohner zur Arbeit radelt, wurde der Blog "Cycle Chic" erfunden. Er ist ein Streetstyle-Blog wie "The Satorialist", nur dass dort eben Fotos von gut angezogenen Radlern und vor allem Radlerinnen zu sehen sind. Weltweit kopierten Blogger die Idee. Fahrradfans in Tokio, Melbourne und San Francisco verschrieben sich damit dem Stil-Manifest, das auf www.copenhagencyclechic.com steht. Dessen oberste Regel lautet: "Style over Speed". In diesem Sinne verpflichten die Radler sich, "visuell zu einer ästhetischeren Stadtlandschaft" beizutragen. Ein Helm ist demnach zwar erlaubt. Ansonsten müssen die Radler typische Fahrradkleidung meiden. Tabu sind in der Stadt also jene atmungsaktiven Scheußlichkeiten, mit denen Rennradfahrer so gerne über Landstraßen rasen. So oberflächlich das klingt: Die Dänen vertreten ein hehres Ziel. Sie wollen durch gutes Aussehen zum Radfahren inspirieren, ohne dabei als "Bicycle Activists" aufzutreten. Keinesfalls wollen die Blogger in den Ruch verbohrter Radaktivisten geraten. Und womöglich haben die stilvollen Radler mit ihrer sanften Mission mehr Menschen zum Strampeln gebracht als jede Werbekampagne. Denn Stil ist das neue Mittel im Kampf um die Straße.

Entsprechend verführerisch werden neue angelsächsische Radmagazine wie "Boneshaker" oder "The Ride" illustriert, die auf dem Couchtisch mehr hermachen als ein Angeberdesignmagazin wie "Visionaire". Die Hefte enthalten ein wildes Sammelsurium an Erlebnisberichten von Radfahrern, mal geht es um eine Charity-Tour durch Malawi, mal um den Stolz auf Narben von Fahrradstürzen. Es sind Geschichten, die den Alltagsfahrer im Gefühl bestärken, näher am echten Leben zu sein. Auch der britische Modedesigner und Radliebhaber Paul Smith kommt zu Wort. Nicht, weil er gerade eine Kollektion für die Fahrradbekleidungsfirma Rapha entwarf. Smith darf ein Plädoyer dafür halten, im Sattel keinesfalls SMS zu schreiben und überhaupt das Leben nicht zu überfrachten: "Warum stopfen wir so viel hinein, wenn doch Reden und Beobachten und die Liebe zum Leben so viel wichtiger als alles andere sind?"

Wer sich durch die schön layoutete Geisteswelt zum Rad blättert und klickt, entdeckt überall zwischen den Zeilen die Mission in Form der Gleichung: Schönes Rad = besseres Leben. Oder: Velo = Love. Botschaften, die auch ein Designpreis-gekröntes deutsches Magazin namens "Fahrstil" seit vier Ausgaben verbreitet. In einer davon feiert das Heft die "neue Blütezeit für Maßfahrräder" und bemüht sich um eine Antwort auf die Frage, warum Menschen für ein handgemachtes Rad so viel ausgeben wie für einen Kleinwagen. Schließlich gibt es schon Räder für jeden Typ, vom Retrorad für die Hipster über Elektroräder für Nichtschwitzer bis hin zum Faltrad für den Auto- oder ICE-Fahrer. Warum also ein Maßrad? "Ein einzigartiger, perfekter Hybrid aus Mensch und Maschine soll entstehen", mutmaßt "Fahrstil". Und: "Der Mensch versucht, sich in einer immer komplexeren Welt neu zu verorten." Anders gesagt: Ein Maßrad ist die Essenz des Fahrradbooms. Es ist die ultimative Form von Selbstverwirklichung und Selbstbestimmung.

Hier finden sich wieder Parallelen zu anderen Megatrends. Auch hinter der Do-it-yourself-Welle und hinter dem "Urban Gardening" steckt der Wunsch nach Unabhängigkeit, danach, den Rest der Welt nicht mehr zu brauchen. Radfahrern können Benzinpreise ziemlich egal sein. Selbst das gewöhnlichste Fahrrad schlägt das Automobil in puncto Autonomie zumindest tagsüber in der Stadt um Längen. Radler fahren quer über die Straße, am Stau vorbei, gegen den Strom der Einbahnstraße, über die rote Ampel, ohne Licht, mit lauter Musik auf den Ohren. Ein gutes Gefühl, das für viel Ärger bei jenen sorgt, die sich an die alten Regeln halten. Was wiederum manche Fahrradmissionare zu gefühlten Revolutionären macht. Wie die Macher des neuen, etwas angestrengt um jugendliche Lässigkeit bemühten Hefts "Spoke", das sich "Magazin für urbane Fahrradkultur" nennt und auf Starrgang- und Eingangradler abzielt. Es plädiert schon im Editorial für fahrenden Ungehorsam. "So richtig Spaß machen doch nur die verbotenen Dinge", heißt es. Hinten im Heft gibt es - wie in den anderen, stilvollen Radmagazinen auch - eine große Geschichte zur Historie des Rads. Durch sie bekommt die junge Radkultur gleich mehr Bedeutung - und die jungen Leser neue Gurus. "Spoke" erzählt etwa, wie Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Brite John Kemp Starley das Niederrad perfektionierte und einen Radboom auslöste. An ihn denkt der Leipziger Literaturwissenschaftler und Fahrradforscher Elmar Schenkel sofort, wenn man ihn nach einer historischen Parallele zum heutigen Radtrend fragt: "Damals explodierte die Nachfrage nach Rädern. Und es erschienen etliche Romane, in denen vom neuen Rauscherlebnis Fahrrad die Rede war." Bücher wie zum Beispiel "Voici des ailes" ("Hier sind die Flügel") von Maurice Leblanc. Darin geht es um zwei Pärchen, die von Paris aufbrechen und im Laufe der Tour die Partner tauschen. Eine für damalige Zeiten wahrhaft libertäre Geschichte. Ohnehin gilt das Fahrrad als Befreier der Frauen. Sie legten das Korsett ab und kürzten die Röcke, um besser radeln zu können. Radhersteller warben gerne mit halb oder gänzlich nackten Frauen und Sprüchen wie: "Nütze die Zeit, sie geht so schnell von hinnen."

Früher wie heute gilt: Wer Rad fährt, hat mehr Kontrolle über sein Leben. "Beim Radfahren ging es von Anfang an um Autonomie", sagt Schenkel. Und deshalb auch um Macht. Die Radreklame zeigte etwa Napoleon im Radsattel. Auch wer heute demonstrieren will, alles im Griff zu haben, setzt sich an den Lenker - wie der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy oder der britische Premier David Cameron, beide bekennende Radfans. Vergangene Woche luden sogar der russische Präsident Dmitri Medwedjew und Regierungschef Wladimir Putin zum Fototermin auf Fahrrädern. Sie wirkten wie Touristen auf dem Leihrad, aber Sportlichkeit ist bei Machern Trumpf.

Auch deshalb findet das Fahrrad eine ganz neue Klientel - wie den Radverkäufer Michael Vogt. Er besitzt zwar noch einen Porsche und einen Land Rover Defender, die nun aber oft wochenlang unbewegt vor der Tür stehen. Gerne erzählt er die Geschichte seiner Wandlung. Eigentlich ist er von Beruf strategischer Marketingberater und hilft Kunden bei der Produktentwicklung. Zum Fahrradhändler wurde Vogt, nachdem er einen "signifikanten vierstelligen Betrag" in ein Fahrrad investieren wollte und nichts Passendes fand. Nun will er seiner Klientel den Service bieten, den sie vom Autokauf kennt: "Die Kunden bekommen bei uns einen Kaffee und können sich in Ruhe entscheiden, wie ihr Rad aussehen soll. Sie glauben nicht, wie viele Leute 150 Euro mehr zahlen, um eine andere Farbe zu bestellen." Als Nächstes will Vogt einen Laden in den USA eröffnen. Einstmals Traumland für Autofahrer. Als neue Zweiradhymne bietet sich eine alte an: "Like a true nature's child we were born to be wild."

Off topic: what do Munich cyclists and pedestrians listen to?

2011-06-15T14:10:00.001+02:00

A nice project:

NextBike in Munich

2011-06-14T18:07:00.000+02:00

Call-a-Bike Munich gets a big competition. Since last weekend you will find 250 new, fancy and comfy rental bikes from “nextbike”, which can be rented for 1 Euro an hour or 8 Euros per day!

Check out: NextBike

On my ride to Work (Uni) today I passed 7 new bike stations and I was quite surprised to already find some spots half empty!

30 Stations are there in total in Munich, most of them within close reach to the inner city circle and I have to admit, that these cute bikes and the lovely (flower) baskets in front look much more welcoming than the DB Call-A-Bike ones….

I know, it actually is visual cheating, but come on! Rental Bikes with flowers! How happy does that make one? There you go: the spirit of Amsterdam in Munich…

The registration is for free as well and I do find this system quite customer friendly. Invented in Leipzig does it bring some inspiriration to Munich and hopefully more people on two environment friendly wheels ;-)

Wigand von Sassen on the Radlhauptstadt campaign

2011-06-10T09:51:00.000+02:00

In a recent presentation in the Netherlands, Wigand von Sassen of the Munich municipality explained the idea behind and workings of the Radlhauptstadt campaign. Below, his sheets (via)

How humour can prove a point: stop ticketing cyclists for not riding in the bike lane

2011-06-09T13:34:00.000+02:00

One of the infamous Neistat Brothers made this funny movie (watch till the end)

Berlin challenges Munich: Who is the Bike Capital now?

2011-06-07T14:02:00.000+02:00

There is no better competition than one in which cities attempt to be the most cycling friendly!

Gent (Belgium) sucht den Radlstar

2011-05-27T17:38:00.000+02:00

Inspired by Munich, other cities now set out on positive marketing campaigns involving the end user. Happy to see that good examples makes good followers! Read crude translation from Dutch here. Click on image to see all 448 portrets! Lot's of cargobikes there already....

Bikes and Fashion! What a combination

2011-05-24T18:19:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday, the Radlhauptstadt combined two great events to advance the bicycle in Munich society: A Haute Couture fashion show with upcoming designers and with a big role for the bicycle and the Radlnacht (a bike ride around the inner city on closed road segments; later more on this). Here the video of the Fashion Show. It is worth some of your time to see the link between beatiful bicycles and fashion and to hear the responses by the audience:

...And another film, now from Odense

2011-05-19T14:30:00.000+02:00

Another beautiful example of branding of cycling as something fun and wonderful. Note: this is a commercial and not a documentary (it might over-exposure certain aspects of cycling while ignoring others) via

New video by People For Bikes

2011-05-17T13:08:00.000+02:00

As already posted before, the People for Bikes association from the USA follows a similar line in the marketing of cycling. Their new video captures the emotional essence. No smugness about the environment, health etc. Instead, a focus on capturing the joy and fun of cycling. Enjoy!

Munich city center soon to be 30 km/h zone!

2011-05-17T09:47:00.000+02:00

The ‘Kreisverwaltungsreferat’ (citizen registration department) suggests that the speed limit in the old city center of Munich should be set to 30km/h in the coming years. Besides the fact that this will make the area safer for cyclists as well as pedestrians, they also say that it is then possible to allow cycling in opposite direction in one way streets. They hope that this will relieve the crowded main cycle route Marienplatz-Dienerstrasse-Residenzstrasse. This time a comment from the Dutch perspective...

In my opinion, slowing down motorized traffic is always a good idea. However, bicycle friendly facilities such as ‘cycle-ghost driving’ are also possible in areas that don’t allow 30 km/h speed limits. In fact, it is no problem at all to facilitate one way roads with cycling in both directions also in 50 km/h zones. You only have to help the car driver (and thus the cyclist) a little with understanding the situation: Bicycle paths must be painted on the street in the opposite direction (so only on the left side of the road seen from the car driving direction). This functions quite well in the Netherlands.

Munich’s city center would also be great for so called ‘bicycle streets’ (Fahrradstrassen) when these speed limits are effective. ‘Bicycle streets’ are streets designed as bike lanes, where cars (and/or other motorised traffic) are allowed as ‘guests’. Even in the Netherlands, ‘bicycle streets’ are a relatively new phenomenon. Unfortunately, the bicycle street doesn’t have a legal status yet, but generally speaking it is clear to everyone entering such a street that the cyclist should be allowed all comfort here. In the small town I grew up in, which is very close to the German border, we now also have a bicylce street. Although the Dutch and German words for ‘car’ and ‘guest’ are equal, it is astonishing to see that the Germans, who are normally more polite in traffic than the Dutch, seem to have lots of problems in allowing the cyclists their space. Of course, in this street a cyclist doesn’t have to step aside for a car. But over and over again the German car drivers are freaking out if they have to wait a few seconds behind a cyclist until there is room to overtake. Is it the Dutch word for ‘bicycle’, or ‘street’ they don’t understand, or are they still not used to cyclists being serious road users? Maybe it helps to just introduce this concept in Germany also. Munich would be the place!

For now there is only one step to overcome before introducing the 30 km/h zone in Munich’s old city center; The ‘Stadtrat’ (city counsil) still has to decide about the proposal.

Critical Mass ride in Munich this Friday

2011-05-10T14:13:00.000+02:00

lick on image for more details for the ride this Friday.

LA sucht den Radlstar!

2011-05-10T13:34:00.000+02:00

Mapping LA'ers that do not use a car!! Madness....

Bicycle photo of the week: Cyclist can go have holidays now!

2011-05-04T19:35:00.000+02:00

Finally.....fanatic cyclists can finally go on a holiday. This thing is more real than you think (click on the image to find out more). via

Car versus Cyclist: Idea for Munich

2011-05-02T21:26:00.000+02:00

Could somebody make a video like this in Munich? Inspired on Top Gear and with a very nice message for the urban cyclist. Sadly, the video is made with lycra and helmet, but I think the message can be the same for 'normal' cyclists. From Marienplatz to a beer garden in rush hour with a BMW? Something for the cycling week?

In this case, the route goes from the innercity of Delft to the Euromast in Rotterdam; some 17 Kilometers by car (See map below the film). No times are mentioned, although Leontien states to be 20 minutes earlier than the car driver.
If needed, I can provide subtitles; let me know (I don't have the time now)

Grotere kaart weergeven

One week of urban cycling celebration: the Radlschau-Woche

2011-04-27T14:00:00.000+02:00

It is a well-known international fact by now that Munich is the leading city in applying marketing strategies to make cycling a mainstream mode of transportation. When your infrastructure is on par, but the number of cyclist stays below potential, there is a cultural element that needs attention. In 2010, Munich launched the Radlhauptstadt campaign that could be followed on this blog. We even shot a short video about the campaign that is now used to inspire Dutch (!) cities to do more with marketing.

Together with ARD, the campaign goes on in 2011. All successful events of last year, together with some new elements, are organized in one week (Radlschau-Woche). A week to celebrate the urban cycling culture and to increase the awareness among non-cyclists (yes, they still exist). The events build up towards a spectacular Night of Cycling on the 21st of May:

The week kicks of with a focus on safety in traffic. On Monday, the police offers safety training and there will be a number of places where your bike can get a safety check
The Tuesday will launch an awareness campaign on the potential of cargo bikes. There is still limited use of them in Munich (consider that in Amsterdam over 30.000 of them are currently in use). Two companies are currently pushing this ideal transportation mode for companies and (especially) urban families: Velocompany and Stilrad in coorperation with Fietsfabriek.
On Wednesday the bicycle as sporting and fun mode is celebrated
On Thursday, the bicycle as transportation for the elderly is in the spotlight. Expect especially some E-bike activity here.
The Friday is to relax and to build up energy for the Grand Final. On this day there are several recreational bicycle tours in and around Munich. Also, a bike acrobatics show will be performed.

On Saturday all bicycle loving eyes should especially be focussed on Munich. In the evening the first German Bicycle Fashion Show will be held in cooperation with the Deutsche Meisterschule für Mode and other Munich fashion designers. The stage will be filled with gorgeous fashion and beautiful bikes.After that, the Bicycle week will close with the second consecutive Radlnacht or Bicycle Night. The inner ringroad will be closed for cars and thousands of people will experience the benefits of a car free city where cyclist can roam wherever they want. Of course, many buildings around the route will be lightened, music will support the riders and drinks will be served. The second Radlstar will be chosen in the coming period and he or she will of course also be present.

For more information, feel free to ask in the comments or visit the German website of the campaign here.

Cycling makes even dolphins like you

2011-04-26T16:16:00.000+02:00

Your daily dose of WTF(?) and cuteness in one video:

What does a car say about you?

2011-04-21T14:28:00.000+02:00

...and what does a bike say?

Via Johannes Link

Bicycle Photo of the Week: Cops on a bike, they are fast!

2011-04-18T18:34:00.000+02:00

Emotional appeal for cycling

2011-04-11T20:00:00.000+02:00

I already uploaded the mp3 of the Radlhauptstadt song, with which Munich want's to appeal to young people. Emotional and rational arguments mixed together. A nice video that invites to be used in other places!

Radlhauptstad campaign in start of second year

2011-04-05T16:13:00.000+02:00

A lack of posting here should not be seen as if nothing interesting is happening around cycling and Munich. It has more to do with the fact that time is linear (and directional) and until now, I can only occupy one position on this dimension...

Meanwhile, the guys from Radlhauptstadt are on the move to talk about their experiences and share lessons with the rest of the world. Below some of the responses after their talk in Seville.

A quick translation for the ones that do not master German. The second speaker states:

"My name is Maria Vassilakou and I am the vice-major of Vienna and responsible for transport policies. A great example for us all is Copenhagen, which is the European Capital of cycling. But, we have another example in the German speaking part and that is Munich, which gave us a very nice presentation today.The Munich campaign is simply super! Super funny, super effective, and some of it can be translated to our own city"

Munich is kicking of the second year of the campaign with the Spring Bike Market this weekend. Yours truly will be present with an own stand featuring lifestyle bikes for families with a personal touch and of high quality! Hope to see you there...

For those visiting the site for the academic treasures: keep posted. Some brilliant articles coming up...

Bicycle photo of the week: Family Transportation

2011-03-16T11:23:00.000+01:00

Oberbürgermeister Ude: Trends in Cycling in Munich

2011-03-10T09:45:00.000+01:00

Munich has the luck of having an leading figure that adores the bike and cycling in general. The Oberbürgermeister Christian Ude even took the time to write a book about the subject of urban cycling: "Kleine Philosophie der Passionen: Stadtradeln". In his latest online column he adresses trends in urban transport in Munich.Original text can be read here.

Transportplanning: Munich on the right track

Munichers use more and more environment-friendly transport modes. According to a study of the infas-Institut for applied Social Sciences, the share of car traffic is dropping since 2002, while bicycle traffic is growing.

With 27% car drivers and 10% car passengers, the share of car traffic in the total mobility of Munich is fairly modest compared to other cities. Since 2002, this share has dropped with 4%. At the same time, the share of bicycle traffic has gone up from 10 to 14%. Also, the public transport system is still a very much loved mode. The share of public transport stayed on the stabil level of 21% of traffic. Walking is underestimated, but in Munich this has a share of 28%.

De trend of more use of envionmently friendly transport modes can be seen as an effect of the transport- and urban politics of Munich. To decrease the negative impacts of car traffic in the city, the city does not only focus on introducing environmental zones and parking management, but also on improvements on the bicycle- and walking networks and extension of the public transport network..

With the planningsideal 'compact - urban - green', the city ensures that there are no long distances between housing and working, shopping and leisure areas and that these distances can be covered by foot or bike.Munich wants to be Germans bicycle friendliest Metropole. With the campaign 'Radlhauptstadt Munich', the city heavily invested in the last year to convince people to change from car to bike. To make cycling more appealing, the physical network is improved by extending the 1200 kilometres of cycling lanes in the city, by opening one-way streets for cyclists in the opposite direction, new painting and extra parking spaces.

Next to that, the city constructed new public transport lines. The operator (MVG) startet a 10 year campaign to improve the network. Alreday in 2011, they invest 150 Million Euro in more trains per hour, new trains and extension of the network. While in 2010 the new metro stations Moosacher St. Martins-Platz and Moosach were developed, in the next years the focus will be on the tram network.With the introduction of the new time table in December, the new tram to St. Emmeram will start service.Also, new tracks are planned: The new city part Freiham will be connected with Pasing with line 19. In the North of the city line 23 will be extended to metro station Kieferngarten. Between this station and Am Hart, the new line 24 will start service.

Especially the regional public transport (S-bahn) has to be extended, since it is the backbone of the whole system. Although the second tunnel (2nd Stammstrecke) is in the hands of the Deutschen Bahn and the State of Bayern, the city has a vital interest in a fast construction.

Selling cycling as safe as a self-fulfilling prophecy

2011-03-09T10:43:00.000+01:00

via Copenhagenize

An Australian view on the success of the Bicing scheme in Barcelona, a former car city. It is all about visibility and about promoting cycling as a safe mode.

Make a Bike Movie!

2011-03-08T09:12:00.000+01:00

An overview of some of the classics of the Bicycle Film Festival in 3 minutes. Worthwile...So excited, I just can't hide it!

(Mis)use of bicycle in commercials (continuing)

2011-02-28T19:33:00.000+01:00

Another nice example from the land of the bicycle. How much engrained cycling is, is shown in almost every commercial block on television. In this one, it is shown how the Dutch travel:

Guy: "cool, aint it"

Voice over: "Sawadee, pure nature"

Guy2: "Nice ey"

Das Potenzial von Lastenfahrräder

2011-02-24T15:43:00.000+01:00

Munich is focussing this year's Radlhauptstadt campaign partly on the potential of Cargobikes for citizen and companies. De Fietsfabriek München shows some of this potential in an overview of custom made cargobikes (click on the image to proceed).

How a leisure cyclists becomes a commuting cyclist: some academic evidence

2011-02-23T09:46:00.000+01:00

Most people that start using the bicycle for home-work trips have had experience using the bike for leisure before. With this assumption in mind, a group of scientists from Seoul (South-Korea) set out to examine which factors influence this transition and how much time it takes. If we want to establish real cycling cultures in our cities, getting cycling from being 'leisure' to being a real transport mode is crucial. Let's see what the numbers tell us for policy-making... (as always, let me know in the reactions if you want the paper)...

In the current issue of the academic journal Transportation a group of scientist analysed the time duraction and the factors that influence this. Their research was performed in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (South Korea). The data is collected through interviews along a main bicycle path (20 percent of all data: 112 people) along the Han river and through an online survey.

The starting point of the researchers is that the often claimed direct link between cycling infrastructure and cycling rates is still much debated in academia. It is sometimes even claimed to be the other way around (more cyclists => better infra). This group states that "the difficulty of increasing bicycle use could be ascribed to a fundamental lack of commitment to cycling at an individual level".

57% of commuting cyclists once began as a leisure cyclist. On average it took them 40,5 months to make the decision to use the bicycle for commuting. If we know the factors that inlfuenced this choice, a use potential for urban cycling can be unleashed. The found variables are shortly summed up below:

Person specific:

Older people that started leisure cycling are more likely to switch to commute cycling
Married people are more likely to switch than unmarried people
Car ownership decresaes the chances of the swith to commute cycling
The higher the income, the less likely that the person will use the bicycle to commute
White-collar workers are more likely to switch than blue-collar workers
People that live in high-rises are more likely to switch
Transit riders are more likely to switch than car drivers (and bad transit increases that)
The intensity of leisure cycling decreases the duration of making the transition

Urban indicators:

The distance to work is a hindrance to use the bicycle as commuting mode
The proporation of segregated bicycle lanes has a positive influence on the choice
People that experienced segerated laneS during leisure ar more likely to switch

Latent factors

People that are vulnerable for noise or pollution are less likely to switch
People that highly evaluate the symbolic meaning of the car are less likely to switch
People with a lot of social activities/many appointments are less likely to switch
Early birds and people in good condition are more likely to switch

Conclusions from the findings suggest that:

government should invest in establishing segregated bicycle lanes for leisure-cyclists as well as for commuter-cyclists
mixed land-use development is recommended, in which residential buildings are closely located to buildings of commercial or official use
white-collar married workers with mid- or low-level incomes, who live in high-rise apartments and started leisure-cycling at a late age, are a productive target on which to concentrate the promotion of commuter-cycling, and
more intensive, compulsory measures, such as congestion tolls and gas taxes, should be implemented to reduce thecar-dependence of commuters.

Bicycle photo of the week: Supporting revolutions

2011-02-22T16:16:00.000+01:00

Another brilliant film for Munich Bicycle Film Festival 2011

2011-02-09T19:30:00.000+01:00

Apparently showed in 2010 at some locations (not Munich as far as I know of)...Nice; it gives us an opportunity to improve in 2011! Made by Nanna Nike Kindtler.

Marketing campaign Munich nominated for Prize!

2011-02-02T10:53:00.000+01:00

(via) Many elements of the campaign, such as the RadlJoker, 'München sucht den Radlstar' or the Radlnight, have faced controversy. Especially the parties CSU & FDP called many of these marketing actions a waste of money.

But credits come were credits are due: the German government nominated the Campaign for the German bike price 'Best for Bike 2011' (together with four other candidates). The winner will be announced on the Bicycle mobility conference in Essen at the end of February. In 2006, Munich already won the accompanying award for 'Most Bicyclce Friendly Personality' that was given to Oberbürgermeister Christian Ude.

To celebrate this, hereby I movie about all actions of the campaign. Accompanied with the song 'Wir Fahren Bike'.

A tip for Bicycle Film Festival 2011

2011-02-01T20:34:00.000+01:00

Look no further. Munich's bicycle film festival needs films like this one. Shot by director Martin de Thurah. Via Copenhagen Cycle Chic:

Must read: Book review by Mikael @ Copenhagenize

2011-02-01T11:59:00.000+01:00

Mikael reviews the book Fighting Traffic - The Dawn of the Automobile in the American City, by Peter D. Norton published by MIT Press. In his review he focusses on how urban streets have been re-branded in favour of the car.

Showing in the process why we should now take the same weapons of marketing to re-brand them back! Go Münchenierung and Radlhauptstad München!

Read Mikael's piece here.

Interview with Marc (Amsterdamize)

2011-01-30T21:28:00.000+01:00

...by night....on a bike...in the city center of Amsterdam.

...

And still sharp as ever!

Bicycle photo of the week

2011-01-26T13:21:00.000+01:00

“The history of the world is the record of a man in quest for his daily bread and butter”

Hendrick Willem Van Loon

Challenging the 1-dimensional view on cycling: Infra is not sacred...

2011-01-24T11:08:00.000+01:00

To paraphrase a great thinker: "It is not (only) the Infrastructure, Stupid!". With this, I do not want to start a discussion along the line of the vehicular cyclists (argueing that no special infrastructure is needed for cycling), but I do want to challenge those who state that it is all about laying the pavement. To trigger this, I show you a recent picture of what happens when the right infrastructure meets the wrong culture (Amsterdam and a new youth and immigrant culture). So, there is more than one dimension. If we accept this, we can learn a lot from Munich's approach in other cities.

I will first give you the latest statistics about Munich and then summarize a brilliant academic piece, just published this week in Urban Studies (article can be send again, just ask for it in the comments). Long story short; cycling in Germany seems immune for policies (i.e. infrastructure).

Cycling in Munich is booming. The newest municipal report shows a rising trend in the number of cycling trips. In 2010, 14% of all trips were made by bicycle. Half of all Münchners rides a bike on a daily basis. Also interesting: 30% of the families do not own a car. Public transport is used 600 million (!) times a year. Also, street interviews show an increasing awareness of cycling and general positive effects of the campaign to make cycling more mainstream.The marginal amount of new infrastructure (Munich already has 1200 kilometer of seperated bicycle tracks) cannot account for such trends.Let's turn to academia....

Frank Goetzke and Tilmann Rave describe their research on variabels that influence cycling. In their statistical analysis (municipalities as units) they use what they call traditional variables (i.e. its topography, infrastructure, socioeconomic composition) versus bicycle culture. Their hypothesis is that "the probability of a person riding a bicycle increases with the city’s level of bicycle culture".

Bicycle culture is best described as a social interaction or spillover phenomenon (social network effect), where a higher bicycle mode share makes it more likely that some other person will also ride a bike.

Goetzke and Rave propose three reasons for this: 1) more cyclists leads to utilitary gains (e.g. more safety), 2) conformity to a social norm (peer pressure; see example of family members), and 3) internalising information (other cyclists show that cycling is feasible). The municipalities included are listed below, with their traditional characteristics.

Results
Then, different econometric models (based on municipal, individual and trip characteristics) were evaluated for four trip purposes: 1) school and work combined, 2) shopping, 3) errands, and 4) recreational.

Two variables were significant for all purposes: trip distance and flat topography. Lesson 1: keep distances short, built compact cities (see central Amsterdam versus western suburbs).
For school/work trips, rail transit is a clear substitute. Men are more likely to cycle. Cycling is independent of age, income, infrastructure and social network effects.
For shopping trips, car speed is a substitute. Infrastructure supports cycling. Age and household do not matter, but social network effects do.
For errands, infrastructure matters as well. Bicycle culture does not seem to matter here.
Recreational trips show a different picture. Men, older people and lower income cycle more.Social network effects are significant here as well.
Summary: bicycle culture plays an important role for recreation and shopping. There is no support that social network effects or bicycle culture has an impact on school/working trips or running errands by bicycle. Bicycle infrastructure increases bicycle mode share only for shopping and errands. The propensity to commute by bicycle seems to be largely independent of variables directly influenced by policy.

Discussion
The analysis shows that more bicycle lanes increase cycling only for shopping and errand trips."Bicycle lanes per population seem to have neither an impact on work/school trips nor on recreational trips. Actually, the only potential direct policy variable for commuting trips significantly different from zero is rail transit, which is a substitute for bicycling". Rail transit should be more complementary to reduce this substitution. The succes of the Dutch OV-fiets shows that this works.

"Furthermore, the more congested the roads are, the more people use the bicycle for shopping". Policy makers pay attention: "if you want to increase the bicycle modal split for shopping trips, leave automobile congestion alone".

"The results show that bicycle policies should not have a one-dimensional focus on just bicycle infrastructure, but rather should use a multifaceted approach which also includes designing public transit as a complement to bicycling rather than a substitute, tolerating congestion and promoting bicycle culture with whatever means are available (having bicycle days, organising recreational bicycle tours). Bicycle planners may want to consider which trip purpose would most easily improve bicycle modal split in their city and then pick the adequate policy instruments accordingly".

"If social network effects indeed play a significant role in whether or not people choose the bike as their mode of transport, then approaches to bicycle policy should shift to include also building and supporting a bicycle culture, and should not only exclusively focus on improving infrastructure"

On a slightly different note...

2011-01-20T17:32:00.000+01:00

...this great (emotional) German commercial. An yes, there are at least two bicycles shown in the video!

(Mis)use of bicycle in commercials

2011-01-18T17:12:00.000+01:00

Although the last example was questioned by some on its true intentions (Dutch colonial heritage collided with current right wing politics), I present to you today two examples that show how much the bike is engrained in the Dutch culture. A drink (Roosvicee, 1980) and a health insurance (Agis, 2011). Other examples here and the explanation why this is an important indicator for bike cultures here and here. In the comments and in examples, let's try to focus on how the bicycle is brought in a positive way, instead of focusing on bashing others (this only brings up cognitive dissonance in people).

Small Lady: "Are we almost at the pump mom?"
Larger Lady: "cycle for a little while (clumsy translation alert)"
Small Lady: "but I am a little tired"
Larger Lady: "Yes, because you have such little legs"
"You see, we are already there
Small Lady: "Mom, can I pump"
VoiceOver: "You also give your kids Roosvicee, don't you"

Agis uses the normal city bike to show how healthy they are.Special attention for 0:22!

VoiceOver: "At Agis, we have people working that worked in the healthcare sector before"
"So we know very well, that sufficient exercise is important for good health"
"That is why we over several programs to improve your endurance"
Man: "hi"
VoiceOver:"Like 'with AGIS in motion'"
"That is how we can matter more for you"
"Agis, the health insurance"
"Sportive slendering? AGIS doesn't only offer Diet Advice and course
but also activites for better endurance"
"For more information, visit our website"

(Mis)use of bicycle in commercials

2011-01-12T11:38:00.000+01:00

And another example of how the bike is (mis)used in a commercial and to help you all to learn a bit of Dutch language in the process. This time the bike is not used for the car industry, but to sell (slightly less harmful) tea...

Again, the bike is used as an emotional and cultural appeal.Let's all assume here that the phrase "real Dutchmen" is not meant in a discriminating way.

VoiceOver: "At Pickwick, they work everyday to make the best tea"

Woman: "Why is there an English Blend, but not a Dutch Blend?"

Man1: "O, there once was! 400 years ago, the Dutch were the first to bring tea to Europe"

Woman: "Can't we make the tea of then, the tea of now?"

Man2: "Real Dutch tea"

Woman: "And we are going make it with REAL Dutchmen!"

Then, the real Dutchmen arrive in a bicycle swarm...

VoiceOver: "And that is how Pickwick makes new history"

Man3: "Mmm, nice..."

VoiceOver: "The slightly refined orange Packo: Dutch Blend"

Man3: "Nice, isn't it, colleague"

Bicycle photo of the week: B.I.K.E.

2011-01-10T16:31:00.000+01:00

If you ever forget how a bike is actually constructed....

Foreign Example: Nice view of bicycle hires

2011-01-07T21:16:00.000+01:00

Yes, I know Munich doesn't have a system as London, but still....the graphics are spectacular! Click and be amazed!

Thanks to Thomas Straatemeier!

Bicycle photo of the week: Da Vinci

2011-01-05T10:50:00.000+01:00

Made by Andy Singer Cartoons.
Thanks to Luca Bertolini

Foreign Example: The Ease of creating bike parking

2011-01-04T11:19:00.000+01:00

For all those politicians that claim that bike parking is soooooo expensive: an artistic and realistic experiment from the Netherlands. (via @Amsterdamized).

Calculating benefits of cycling

2011-01-03T16:46:00.000+01:00

The Dutch Fietsersbond developed a simple tool to measure the personal and societal benefits of going by bike instead of by car (more here, here and here). Play with the parameters below:

Afstand = Distance per day
Dagen per week = Days of the week
Weken per jaar = Weaks per year
taartjes = Number of cupcakes
Brandstofbesparing = Fuel savings
Fijn stof = Small particles
berekend op jaarbasis = Annually
Minder luchtvervuiling = less air pollution

Golden Earring FTW!

2010-12-30T13:28:00.000+01:00

Never heard it before, but there it is (Golden Earring (Going to the run):

Ed's got the looks of a movie-star
Ed's got the smile of a prince
He rides a bike* instead of a car
I wanna be his friend

Ed's got the looks of a movie-star
Ed's got the smile of a prince
He rides a bike instead of a car
I always be his friend

* INSTANT ERRATUM: Apparently, the song is about motorcycles, but let's just forget that....

Even academia rediscovers cycling [Wonkish!]

2010-12-29T16:47:00.000+01:00

[NOTE: I used the term wonkish to indicate this post is a little less about nice pictures of Munich, and a little more about the *boring* science behind cycling (coined by Paul Krugman for his in-depth posts on economic theories). Needless to say; if somebody is interested in one of the articles, let me know in the comments and I will send them to you.] via Manuel Aalbers.

Looking at scientific output of recent years, we can spot a clear trend of increasing attention for cycling, strategies to increase cycling and the role of cycling in creating sustainable cities and regions. Of course, we now have the well established Cycling Academic Network lead by Professor Maarsseveen and the more practice oriented Interface for Cycling Expertise in the Netherlands. Also, we saw several academic seminars on the subject, most notably in the UK. Now, a number of interesting studies have crystallized in some exciting theme issues of renown academic Journals. In January 2011, the Dutch AGORA will present findings from Dutch and Flemish authors. Also, the Dutch Tijdschrift Vervoerswetenschap is planning one issue on the subject in 2011/.

For the sake of non-Dutch speakers, I will here focus on yet another Theme Issue that was just published in 2010 in the Journal for the Built Environment. Scholars such as John Pucher, Susan Handy, Kevin Krizek and David Banister contributed to it.(details for all contributions after the break)

Editorial: The Role of Walking and Cycling in Advancing Healthy and Sustainable Urban Areas (MILES TIGHT and MOSHE GIVONI)
Sustainable mobility is the new paradigm in transport planning and policy. At the heart of the new planning and policy model are walking and cycling. Some of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world, New York, London and Paris, amongst others, are adopting pro-walking and cycling policies, investing in appropriate supporting infrastructure, and have recently (Paris and London) rolled out large cycle-hire schemes. Perhaps one of the first realizations emerging from the latest research on walking and cycling is that promoting walking and cycling use is not just a simple question of infrastructure provision. This theme issue considers what we need to know about walking and cycling to understand their importance; the evidence for what works and how much change might be possible and over what timescales; as well as the benefits from such a change.
There is considerable evidence that the further development of walking and cycling as transport modes would be highly beneficial and from a variety of perspectives, for example, through improved health and wellbeing and increasing the sustainability of the urban environment. the key difficulty is less to do with knowing what to do, than making the changes happen and overcoming the considerable barriers to such change which include perceived costs, lack of political will, entrenched attitudes amongst sections of the population, competing interests, and the current complexity of our perceived transport needs.

Walking and Cycling for Healthy Cities (JOHN PUCHER and RALPH BUEHLER)
Walking and cycling are the healthiest ways to get around our cities, providing valuable physical activity for people on a daily basis. These forms of active transport also generate indirect public health benefits by reducing the use of automobiles, thus diminishing air, water, and noise pollution and the overall level of traffic danger. This paper provides a broad overview of the role walking and cycling can play in making our cities healthier. First, we summarize the scientific evidence of the health benefits of walking and cycling. Second, we examine variations in walking and cycling levels in Europe, North America, and Australia. Third, we consider the crucial issue of traffic safety. Finally, we describe a range of government policies needed to encourage more walking and cycling: safe and convenient infrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks, bike paths and lanes, and intersection crossings; traffic calming of residential neighbourhoods; integration with public transport; land-use policies that foster compact, mixed-use developments; people-friendly urban design; improved traffic education; strict enforcement of traffic regulations; and reductions in motor vehicle speed limits.

Figure 2. Trend in combined cycling and walking share of all daily trips in the US, Germany, The Netherlands, France, the UK, and Denmark, 1974–2009. (Sources: BMVBS, 2010, 2004; Danish Ministry of Transport 2010; DfT, 2004, 2010; USDOT, 2010; ORNL, 2004; Papon, 2001;SOeS, 2010; SWOV, 2010)

Tackling Obesity by Urban Planning? Recent Research and a European Case Study (CLOTILDE MINSTER)
Considerable research has been undertaken in recent years in order to understand the relationship between being overweight or obese and urban design. Almost all researchers focusing on this link work in North America. However this subject has recently become a research topic in Europe. Thus, one may question the relevance of the current way of thinking and methodology and its transferability from the US to Europe. Recent literature dealing with the relationship between being overweight or obese and the urban built environment is presented in this paper. Theories from this literature have then been compared with evidence from the field, based on a medium-sized town in Germany, a country often described as less suburban. Conclusions reached in North America seem irrelevant to our European case, which shows that US solutions cannot simply be transferred directly. We suggest that one has to understand both morphological and human aspects of cities to gain a deeper understanding of overweight or obesity.

Promoting Walking and Bicycling: Assessing the Evidence to Assist Planners (ANN FORSYTH and KEVIN J. KRIZEK)
How can people be encouraged to walk or cycle more? This article draws on the results of over 300 well-designed empirical studies to provide guidance on how specific strategies can influence walking or cycling for travel: community design, infrastructure availability, infrastructure quality, programming, pricing, and combined strategies. Urban environments with high levels of walking and cycling for travel typically represent a combination of many factors that help promote these modes. The most compelling argument, particularly for cycling, is that only via an integrated range of built environmental features (including infrastructure and facility improvements), pricing policies, or education programmes will substantive changes result. This is what has been occurring in The Netherlands, Denmark, and parts of Germany for decades. By linking research to practical advice, the article fills a gap between (a) the many excellent literature reviews pointing to where further research is needed and (b) useful practice-oriented guidelines based on experience.

Shaping the City for Walking and Cycling: A Case Study of Lancaster (COLIN POOLEY, DAVE HORTON, GRIET SCHELDEMAN and RICHARD HARRISON)
This paper uses the town of Lancaster (in north-west England) as a case study to examine the barriers to cycling and walking, the effectiveness of measures to promote cycling (Lancaster is a Cycle Demonstration Town) and the opportunities to improve the environment for both walking and cycling. It is argued that while investment in physical infrastructure is of value, the barriers to both cycling and walking go far beyond the physical environment and are deeply embedded in societal structures and the everyday practices of individuals and households. We argue for a more integrated approach to planning for sustainable travel in urban areas, which recognizes the limitations of focusing solely (or mainly) on the built environment.

Walkability, Social Inclusion and Social Isolation and Street Redesign (CARMEL BOYCE)
Within the body of literature on walkability there are many papers on improving a population's health by increasing rates of physical activity, and on how walking improves health. There is, however, a dearth of evidence on public infrastructure investment in built environments, which aim to promote healthy activity, and the relationship between these and evidence of social inclusion, exclusion and public health improvements. In this paper two projects based in the City of Geelong – the Corio Norlane Active Transport Network and Cloverdale Walkability + – are described and used as grounding for discussion of theory and practice relating to these issues.

The Journey and the Destination Matter: Child-Friendly Cities and Children’s Right to the City (CAROLYN WHITZMAN, MEGAN WORTHINGTON and DANA MIZRACHI)
A precipitous decline in the ability of children to walk, cycle, and play outdoors without adult supervision has led to increasing research and policy supporting children's independent mobility (CIM). This article analyses the role of Child-Friendly City initiatives at the local government level in Victoria, Australia, in addressing CIM. Child-Friendly Cities are a promising practice, as they focus on children's right to public space, as opposed to a more limited public health approach that stresses relative risks of traffic and abduction by strangers versus physical inactivity. However, significant barriers are found in the policies and practices of five case studies within Victoria; specifically, the difficulties in moving from the social and health planning perspective informing Child-Friendly City initiatives, towards impacts on land-use planning policies and practices.

Aesthetic Aspects of Walking and Cycling (PAUL TIMMS and MILES TIGHT)
For reasons of energy efficiency, health and the avoidance of climate change, it is desirable to encourage walking and cycling. However, step changes will be required to reverse years of decline in these transport modes. Recent thinking about how these might be achieved have concentrated on ‘traditional’ transport policy measures, namely economic, engineering and information based instruments, while little emphasis has been put on the aesthetic dimension – how the attractiveness of the built environment might be a significant factor in influencing walking and cycling. This paper argues that conceptualization of the aesthetic attractiveness of the street scene necessary to make walking and cycling pleasurable experiences is made difficult by the high degree of subjectivity involved and the likelihood that attitudes to the street scene may change in the future. In response to such problems, the paper suggests that there is a need for philosophical analysis of the issues involved. An introduction to such analysis is provided by a review of aesthetic thinking about landscapes and townscapes. This concentrates on research concerning the relevance of the forerunners of modern aesthetics, the eighteenth-century philosophers Hume and Kant, who attempted to tackle, on a generalized level, the types of problem raised here. As a result of this review, it is clear that there are no simple formulae or mechanisms by which aesthetic assessments can be applied ‘off the shelf’. Rather, the consideration of the historical philosophical arguments historically made about aesthetics can help provide a platform for generating insights on a case-by-case basis.

The Health Economic Case for Infrastructure to Promote Active Travel: A Critical Review (JANE POWELL, ANJA DALTON, CHRISTIAN BRAND and DAVID OGILVIE)
The aim of this paper is to review the current state of the economic evaluation evidence concerning infrastructural environmental interventions for walking and cycling and their health benefits. Relevant economic evaluations are identified by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to the results of a search of health, social science, transport and built environment literature databases. Approaches to economic evaluation used in the included studies are analysed and the main economic findings of the studies summarized. The findings and synthesis of this critical review point to areas of commonality in the approaches to economic evaluation, conceptualization of costs and benefits and measures of economic effectiveness, the findings of the studies and their implications for policy. The review shows that while studies often adopt similar approaches to the generation of economic effectiveness evidence for walking and cycling infrastructure, the methods used to measure and value health benefits and the range of benefit-cost ratios estimated are diverse. The review concludes that further development beyond traditional approaches to economic evaluation of walking and cycling schemes is desirable.

Evaluating Active Travel: Decision-Making for the Sustainable City (JAMES MACMILLEN, MOSHE GIVONI and DAVID BANISTER)
It is now widely recognized that ‘active travel’ – the collective term for walking and cycling – confers a multitude of individual and societal benefits that are qualitatively different from those generated by motorized transport. Regular pedestrians and cyclists can expect to enjoy potential health benefits, while modal shift to active travel can lead to considerable environmental improvements at a broad range of spatial scales. However, given the need to ensure high-quality decision-making in the transport sector, it is paramount that contemporary evaluation practices keep pace with the shifting nature of policies that explicitly encourage uptake of walking and cycling. Drawing on a numerical example, this paper examines the extent to which the United Kingdom Department for Transport's evaluation framework – NATA – is sufficiently capable of determining the likely value of investments in active travel, and hence whether there is confidence that policy-makers are adequately placed to make informed choices between alternative investments. It is argued that while the overarching logic to evaluating active travel remains relatively sound, changes must be made to the framework if a genuine transition to sustainable urban mobility is to occur.

Happy Christmas and see you in 2011! [Photo of the week]

2010-12-24T16:01:00.000+01:00

Here is how I feel about 2010 and 2011 and cycling in Munich. It was a hell of a ride, but there is much more excitement to come!

Greetings from Hamburg: They envy Munich

2010-12-23T10:41:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you need an outsider to show you how lucky you are to live in a certain place. The Netherlands thanks especially David Hembrow for doing that.

Hamburgize now published two posts that show how good Munich is doing with clearing snow in comparison to the Northern city. Maybe, Hamburg should kick-start their Münchenierung process!

First post here

And second here

Munich Bicycle Film Festival: all about coolness

2010-12-20T20:51:00.000+01:00

On 2-5 December, we visited the Bicycle Film Festival in Munich. The festival was the closing event of the first year of the Munich Radlhauptstadt campaign. Nine years ago, the festival started in New York as a celebration of the city’s emerging urban bike movement, and travelled around the world since then. For Munich, it was the first time to host this event.

The first movie I saw was “Line of sight”, about a race through Manhattan on fixed gear bikes. An incredibly cool and funny movie showing a group of people racing the streets while ignoring all other traffic and traffic rules. Just find some space and go, wow!

However, as soon as I started realizing this had actually happened in real life I thought it had nothing to do with cycling at all. The cyclist’s actions must have terribly frightened all car drivers they almost hit, and thank God no pedestrians (including children!) were killed. I definitely do not agree with Lucas Brunelle (film maker), who claims this to be ‘skill’, and as a cyclist, I do not wish to be identified with this kind of practice. Skill is what survivors mistakenly see in the randomness in their actions; ask the ones that didn't make it if they thought they had "skill".

Other movies, for instance about the Italian guy cycling up a mountain while playing music (Belle Epoch) or the bike messenger delivering a bomb (On Time!) were a lot more innocent and hence, a lot more fun to watch. I also liked the BMX-movies a lot (especially “birth of big air”!): how cool to make all these jumps on a bike! Also, the tricks in Dragon Shredit! were awesome!

Sunday, the last day of the festival, was more focused on ‘real’ cycling; cycling as a means of transport and not only as a sport or hobby. This is, to our opinion, what a bicycle film festival in a city like Munich should be like everey year! Munich/the Radlhaupstadtteam did a very good thing here with its promotional movie with the nice song (“Wir fahren Bike!”), but also with their film with kids from the Hauptschule Fürstenrieder Strasse. Both movies nicely show the positive emotions and other benefits related to true cycling. Well done Munich! Other nice examples were Papergirl #3 (here #2 to get the idea) and Curiosity.

I think showing the “coolness” of cycling, either as a sport or as a means of transport are both ways to seduce more people to cycle. Probably, next year the latter should be more emphasized. Maybe with screenings on movies by bicycle advocates (nice example is Bikes Belong) and the bicycle in advertisement. After all, we want normal traffic to become more bike-dominated in Munich. We all know this does not necessarily imply fixed-gear or BMX-bikes or endangering others on the street!

(Photos were all shot by ourselves. Note the cool cargobike that sadly doesn't star in any film.....yet....!)

Bicycle Messenger in Winter

2010-12-19T13:50:00.000+01:00

Munich also has its bike messenger culture. A piece in the Süddeutsche Zeitung covers how they perform in the Winter. One the hand, it offers a nice overview of a subculture. However, I can imagine that many people will use this piece to strenghten their negative view on cycling (in winter). A quick translation here:

Look out, slippery!
by Sara Zinnecker

Icy roads, snow on the Streetcorners, slipping cars: A bike messenger has many obstacles in Winter. Robert Mamuzić rides nevertheless.

The road seems well cleared. The snow only accumulated on the left and right of the road. In the middle, a trail is formed that is just wide enough for Robert and his Mountainbike. Carefully, he steers his bike, but suddenly his profile tires slip. He falls, his bike slides some meters away.

Robert Mamuzić is a bike messenger for 13 Years. He navigates his route through the city through all weather conditions. Now, it takes him 20 minutes to pick up his bike, because it is so slippery. It is always the same game: crawling to the bike, getting up, and slipping when he is almost upright. "A winter without landing in the snow once or twice, is no real winter" he laughs.

Robert should know, he does his job for 13 years already: as a bike messenger of one of the 35 Munich Messenger services he drives around the city 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, delivering all kinds of goods throughout Munich. You can recognize him even in troubled weather, by his lemon yellow Messenger bag. He often travels 90 kilometers on a single day and this brings him sometimes to the region, for example to Starnberg or Wolfratshausen. The schedule is tight, no "happy cycling as Hans-look-in-the-sky". But what can he do to arrive on time in the current road conditions?

Sadly, says Mamuzić, one does not know which cycle paths are snow cleared. For instance, the new route along the Ismaningerstrasse in Bogenhausen. "Almost no snow plough goes there", says the born Münchner in awe. In less central areas, the situation is often better. In Neuperlach, they have the snow under control - the roads are already cleared in the evening after the snow hit. When the cycle paths are not cleared, the bike messenger has to ride on the main road. Here, he has to navigate between the cars and keep the rhythm and balance. "The biggest challenge in winter is, to navigate the other people in traffic". Several times, he had a close call, for instance when pedestrians cross the icy zebra crossing very slowly. "When I swiftly go around a corner, I have to steer on reflexes to change course" he explains.

Another problem is formed by the car drivers, that slide into the crossings and fail to put their car back behind the line. "Suddenly, a car pops up in front of me, that I have to avoid", says the 47-year old. Every evening, Mamuzić works out in the gym. He wishes, that he can keep working like this for several years to come. As a self-employed, he has to provide his own bike, tires, clothing and insurance. His earnings are limited. And, although this year the crisis resulted in less Christmas presents to transport, there are still enough important papers, bags or CD's that have to go from the Council of bank to another address. "It is quicker and safer that the post office" says the messenger - in all weather conditions. In winter, he simply calculates some extra time.

Bicycle photo of the week: Snow can be a valid reason not to cycle

2010-12-18T11:41:00.000+01:00

A Flickr Photo (by Rosebud 23) of Current cycling conditions in Munich (most snow since 1942).

Emotional Marketing for cycling: Radlhauptstadt München

2010-12-17T16:35:00.000+01:00

Munich is one of the leading cities in its attempts to increase bicycle use in the urban transportation system. A large part of its campaign is dedicated to the marketing of cycling. As known in the academic literature, behavioural changes is achieved mostly to changing believe systems and emotions. Something, the car industry is very much in to already!

This short video was made to find out how Munich is doing this and what others (especially Dutch policy makers) can learn. It is currently used in the context of Dutch transportation planning, where the ideas are stimulating discussions on how we can improve the use of marketing in transport planning practices.

Cycling makes happy, stress-free life possible

2010-12-17T16:33:00.000+01:00

Just some more evidence to remember why we are all doing so much to get more cycling in cities. Developed by Leefritme Kenniscentrum (Rhythm of Life Knowledge Center) together with Vodafone, based on some 1800 surveys (more on that here). Some graphs to remember and use towards your politicians.

From left tot the right we see Bicycle (fiets), Walking (tevoet), Car (auto), Motorbike (motor), Moped (scooter), Tram, Train (trein) and Bus. For each mode the motives that people give for their choice of using this mode are presented on a 0-5 scale. For the bike FREEDOM (vrijheid), INDEPENDENCE (onafhankelijkheid) and LOW COST (kostprijs) are the biggest motives. Emotional markers For The Win!
Also, users indicated that cycling and walking generate the least stress (see graph below). Strangely, public transport the most (this could be a specific Dutch treat, as shown before). You want to reduce your stress with 75%? Buy a Cargobike and leave your car behind, as also discussed in Die Zeit (page 2)!

Another important graph is the one that shows the influence of a transport mode on the perception of how valuable, pleasant or fast the travel time is (As proxies for 'rhythm of life' and happiness). Please notice the trade-off here. Car, moped and motor are perceived (!) to speed up travelling but the car and moped also result in a loss of the value of that time and of pleasantness. The bicycle combines both aspects in pleasant and speedy trips.

Much more information in the document, and too much to deal with here.... But at least again some evidence to give us a boost in fighting for more cycling and focussing on emotions to change behaviour.

A view on cycling in Munich: US expat style

2010-12-15T10:02:00.000+01:00

On a colleague blog I found a very interesting view on cycling in Munich. Michael Tierney blogs in several session about his experiences with Munich cycling.

- In the first post he focuses on his bike and sidewalk bikepaths [Read it here]

- The second post is on visibility on interestions, focussing on the Ring [Read it here]

- The third (and currently last) post, Michael blogs about the style in which Münchners bike [Read it here]

Must read: Infographic on mobility and obesity

2010-12-14T21:47:00.000+01:00

Great infographic (Jan Gehl) about cycling, walking, the car and obesity. How children are going to school and what the effect of that is!

Must read: Mia Birk on "Are you a real cyclist?"

2010-12-13T17:12:00.000+01:00

A great article against compartmentalization of cycling by Mia Birk (entire article here)

We are all real cyclists, no matter why we are doing it. If we are racing, toodling, or getting where we need to go; if we sometimes race and sometimes tour and sometimes ride to work or the store or school or the movies; if we ride all of the time or some of the time and take the bus or walk or drive at other times; if we ride to ride or put our bikes on our cars or the bus to get where we’re starting from; if our bike is labeled as road, touring, mountain, Cyclocross, utilitarian, commuter, hybrid, fixie, three-speed, single speed, folding, cargo, kid-carrying, tricycle, electric-assist, unicycle, tall, pedicab or whatever I’ve left off, or if we own or have access to a collection of these babies and happily interchange them depending on the situation; if we go on Cycle Oregon or Ragbrai or ride the Tour de California or would never dream of such a thing; if we wear lycra or think lyrca shorts and clickie shoes are kind of silly or maybe we wear lycra shorts only when we go for a long ride but otherwise wear street clothes; whether we ride for fitness, stress relief, to save money, because we like fresh air, because we’re competitive adrenaline junkies, or just because it’s the best way to get places or get exercise or because it’s really darn fun… it’s all good!

Let’s stop the judging and labeling and compartmentalization, ok?

Do you use the term ‘real cyclist’? How do you distinguish between different types of cycling behavior, should be prioritized over others?

Are you a real cyclist?