Did you know that only 8% of people who own bicycles actually use them as a means of transportation?
Euronews, a multilingual news service headquartered in Lyon, France, reports that while one in three Dutch cycles to work every day, the practice is far less in countries such as Malta or Portugal.
It is comforting to see, however, that Zagreb has made the list as one of the top bike-friendly capitals in Europe.
While capitals such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam top the list with 35% and 32% of bicycles used as daily transport, Zagreb places 6th (10.1%) on the list as one of the most bike-friendly capitals in Europe.
When it comes to the most bike-friendly countries in Europe, however, Croatia ranks a bit further down the list, in 16th place.
While the sale of traditional bikes is at a decline, the electric bicycle market is growing throughout Europe, which has been seen in many places across Croatia and specifically Pula where there is an electric bicycle system called Bičikleta.
The European Cyclists Federation (ECF) hopes that they can increase the share of cycling transport from 8-12% by 2030 with their EU Cycling Strategy.
“Cycling should get its fair share and become an equal mode of transport. Not because we are nice people using bikes, but because investing in cycling delivers a better return on investment. It delivers a better performance for the EU objectives in terms of growth, job creation, and CO2 reduction”, says Ádám Bodor, ECF’s advocacy director and former cycling commissioner of Hungary.
We may still have a long way to go, but bravo to Zagreb for their efforts so far in pushing Croatia to be a more bike-friendly destination!
