For decades, a six-lane highway on the banks of the Rhine marked the profile of Dusseldorf (Germany, about 620,000 inhabitants). Now, the road has disappeared and where cars used to fly there is a green promenade where you can run, rest for a while or ride a bike. The burying of that road has become a symbol of the City Council's desire to make its urban mobility more sustainable. The bicycle plays a fundamental role: in recent years, the city has built almost 100 kilometers of bike lanes that allow you to explore the city center quickly, efficiently and safely.
In 2017, the city hosted the Grand Départ of the Tour de France – the first day of the French cycling tour – and its then mayor Thomas Geisel declared the City Council's commitment to improving the coexistence between cars and bicycles in the city: “I am convinced that the bicycle has meaning as transportation of the future. It is usually faster than the car, more ecological and requires less space. And this is an important argument in a growing city like Düsseldorf.” From that day on, the German city coined a slogan: “A bike-friendly city ready for action,” and insisted on being the example to follow in Germany. Two years ago, The City Council announced a system of cargo bicycles shared by municipal technicianswhich can be used free of charge by various city services for local travel and transportation of objects.
There was still a lot to do to become the model it is today, recognized Stephan Keller, head of the city's transportation area: “We want people to change their way of thinking and to make it clear that Düsseldorf is not yet a perfect city in terms of cycling mobility. There is much to do”. Seven years later—even with changes in the mayor's office—the city has 96 kilometers of bike lanes that connect all neighborhoods, specific traffic lights for two wheels that do not have to stop even if the light is red for cars, lanes with priority on motorized vehicles, physical maps on the streets locating bike lanes, parking spaces for bikes, separated traffic lanes… A delight for pedalers.
As a sign of this strength, the fair Cycling World Europe It established its headquarters in Düsseldorf six years ago and in 2025 it will expand with a replica in the United States (it will arrive in New York in 2025). The event, very focused on urban cycling, rather than competition, is an international reference with a large influx of exhibitors and visitors, as well as long rows of two-wheeled vehicles parked at its doors. This German fair – held from March 15 to 17 – takes place among elegant bicycles, futuristic designs and provocative posters that claim: “The car is dead.”
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A walk through this event gives an idea of the importance of the bike in this city: those who have not opted for pedals find it impossible to park, while the bike racks do not stop filling up. As soon as you enter the venue, the bicycle selected as the best innovative product of the fair stands out on a podium, the Orbea Diem, a futuristic urban electric machine built in the Basque Country that has seduced the jury.
Philip Martin, head of Orbea Marketing in Germany and one of the local gurus on mobility, is clear: “There is still a lot to do to change the way we move around cities in Germany, but it is clear that the large and Small cities are committed to promoting the use of bicycles for urban travel, and consequently more and more money is allocated for this purpose, but all of this continues to depend on the sensitivity of the mayors,” he recalls.
In a country with a strong automobile industry that generates many jobs, declaring war on the car does not seem like the smartest option. Düsseldorf has chosen to take small but continuous steps to integrate two wheels into the concrete jungle: “In the sixties, not everyone had a car, so the necessary infrastructure was created to encourage its use and a huge amount of money was invested in roads, gas stations, parking lots…. For this reason, we know that if the necessary infrastructures are not created, the use of bicycles to address urban mobility will never grow,” continues Martin.
A study carried out by Ipsos in 2022 collects data from 30 countries spread across the planet and reveals that Germany is the second European country in the use of bicycles for trips up to two kilometers in distance: 21% of adults pedal, compared to 45% in the unbeatable Netherlands. At the bottom, Spain barely presents 6%.
More electric bikes than analogue
For the first time, more electric bikes (2.3 million) than analogue bikes (1.9 million) were sold in Germany in 2023, according to a study by ZIV, the German association that brings together the bicycle industry. Today, 11 million vehicles circulate in the German country. ebikes, seven times more than in 2013 and 16% of sales are focused on the urban segment. It is significant that between 2022 and 2023 sales of cargo bikes that are electric and equipped with a box to carry up to two children will skyrocket. The data speaks of the growth of this type of vehicle on urban trips and points out a trend: in 2013, there were 71 million bicycles in the country, a figure that 10 years later reaches 84 million. Increasingly, a single user owns several: urban, sports and cargo.
The bike not only needs a space to explore the city: if that space is shared with cars, it must be safe for both cyclists and drivers. Philip Martin reminds us that “not only safety is at stake, but also comfort because otherwise, no one, or only daring young people, will use two wheels: there is nothing better than an electric bike to get around the city because The most modern ones have built-in lights, allow you to move quickly, carry weight, move with children's carts or with shopping, and have ranges of more than 100 kilometers.” The Ipsos study points out that while in the Netherlands—with an extensive network of bike paths—only 14% of the population considers it dangerous to move in this environment, in Germany the figure rises to 42%, and 60% in Spain.
In this sense, there are companies that encourage cycling mobility by paying the leasing of bicycles to its employees, who have a safe place to park them and showers, if necessary. In London, 60% of trips are around five kilometers, a distance in which the bike is unbeatable for speed, a distance that is stressful by car. One of the biggest shortcomings in the infrastructure necessary for the development of urban cycling mobility is the absence of safe places to park bikes. Argentine journalist Mercedes Gabino has lived in Berlin for years and has never owned a car. The bike is her favorite means of transportation. “But four have already been stolen and when I bought the last one, anti-theft insurance was already included in the price,” she laments. Vandalism is a clear deterrent, and especially since electric models hardly cost less than 3,000 euros.
Cycling through Düsseldorf you can see that there is a lack of safe spaces to leave your bicycle. On the other hand, the bike lanes that run through the city center are perfectly integrated into the traffic and designed so that the cyclist can flow easily through the city's arteries. And to get from one end of the city to the other, two wheels are the fastest and cheapest solution. And it doesn't pollute.
“Large cities can hardly withstand the pollution anymore and their leaders have to reduce their carbon footprint,” recalls Martin, who also believes that banning cars in cities is not a solution despite the fact that 86% of the population surveyed In 30 countries consider that the bicycle is decisive in the reduction of harmful gases.
Only 53% of those surveyed in Germany thought that new urban infrastructure should prioritize the use of two wheels, compared to 57% in Spain. “Electric cars may be welcome in cities, because they neither pollute nor make noise, but you have to ask yourself questions: Do I need a car to go to the bakery that is a kilometer from home? How much public space do cars take up? Studies have shown that Germans do not know the real annual cost of owning a car, but many of those who have cared to find out have decided to use their cars less and buy a bike. Because it is very expensive for them. The desire to save had a lot to do with the economic data and the increase in the sale of electric bikes. Banning the car would not be fair, but it would be fair to encourage new urban mobility options,” acknowledges Martin.te y cara.
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