European Mobility Week 2019

This year, European Mobility Week is focusing on safe walking and cycling. In many countries across Europe, large numbers of people choose to walk or cycle as part of their daily lives, often to work. With a favorable geography and significant infrastructure investment, the Netherlands and in particular Amsterdam, can be considered the global capital of cycling.

Background

 With 17 million people (that’s 488 people per km2), the Netherlands is the most densely populated country of the European Union and in the world with the total size being 41,500 km2. Amsterdam is the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. More than 40% of the total population live in the region of Randstad, the agglomeration of the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

Mobility Figures

• In the Netherlands, the cumulative distance Dutch cycle is 15 billion km a year which means 880 km/ person.
• Dutch own 22.8 million bicycles (including 1.8 million e-bikes) which represent 1.3 bicycles / resident
• 25 % of workers use their bicycles to join their workplace
• The dedicated cycling infrastructure is around 37 000 km of bicycle paths
• Amsterdam is considered as the world capital of cycling; 32% of traffic movement in Amsterdam is by bike and 63% of its inhabitants use their bike on daily basis.

With all the infrastructures and the fact that 61 % live less than 15 km from their workplace plus the fact that the country is predominantly ‘flat’ can help to explain this situation.