Enjoy the ride

From Next magazine issue 2/2009. Text by Tuija Seipell

At recent business meeting, visitors were greeted by hosts wearing the normal business attire, as well as a man wearing a shirt, tie – and cycling pants. His explanation for the unusual outfit was a locker key left at home. This particular commuter always packed a clean shirt and tie in his bag, but the accompanying suit was now hanging behind a locked door.

Pedaling business-people are no longer curiosities, as urban cycling is making a comeback in many big cities. Bicycle commuting is a worthwhile alternative to daily car rides on jam-packed freeways.

In countries such as Holland, India, and China, people have been cycling to work for decades, but the automobile-oriented US has tended to view biking as more of a sport or hobby.

The automotive odyssey

The explosive growth of consumer culture, which began in the US and Canada soon after World War Two, centered around the automobile. Cities, roads, malls, and suburbs were designed to suit cars and to encourage their use.

According to statistics published by the US Department of Transportation, over 70 percent of Americans drive to work alone. For decades, the share of bicycle commuters has remained under half a percent, but the number of people turning to bikes is gradually increasing.

Dependence on cars has given rise to many problems, such as traffic jams, lack of parking space, pollution, and a worryingly expanding average waistline, just to mention a few. Many people have begun to weigh the alternatives to driving, not least because of high fuel prices and the current economic turmoil.

Nevertheless, the infrastructure in the United States still caters to motor vehicles. This has led cyclists in many cities to form associations that advocate more bicycle lanes and routes and promote cycling awareness, among other things, by teaching drivers to take bike riders into consideration on the road. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association, for example, arranges an annual Bike to Work Day to encourage drivers to give pedals a try.

Rising trend

Bicycles have long been popular in many large European cities, such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, which have also invested in bike lanes and safe biking. In recent years, this trend has pushed into Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, and a whole load of other cities emphasizing greener traffic.

The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), an umbrella organization for European bicycle associations, has arranged its international Velo-city conference to promote cycling every year since 1980. The results are beginning to show. The number of cyclists in Brussels, the conference host in 2009, has more than doubled in a decade, and the percentage of daily bike riders has gone from 1.1 to 5 percent in ten years.

Cycling and its promotion have also been of interest in politics. In early 2009, Tineke Huizinga, the Dutch Transport Minister, presented studies according to which annual savings could be as much as 28 million euros if Dutch employers were to promote bicycle commuting. Those who regularly bike to work have on average one fewer sick day than their colleagues who use other vehicles.