Amsterdammers
like to think of their city as the international bicycle city number 1, which is true as far as Velo Mondial is concerned, but in fact nationally it is just bicycle city #259 of the Netherlands in terms of the percentage of trips locals make on bicycle. At least, that can be concluded from a study by
Fietsberaad, which analyzed just that. According to the study, Amsterdammers use a bicycle in 21% of their trips. That is a bit more than Utrecht (20%) and The Hague (18%) and quite a bit more than Rotterdam, notorious for its bicycle-unfriendly traffic lights (14%). However, Amsterdam is doing considerably worse than Groningen (30%). Fietsberaad explains that large cities tend to have lower scores because they offer public transportation of a good quality. “Of course, it’s an excellent choice to offer good public transportation, but the consequence is that this does reduce bicycle use to some extent.” Bicycle use is highest at the West Frisian Islands Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog, where cars are not welcome. In Amsterdam, the share of bicycle use has risen by over a third over the past ten years, according to O+S data; something to be pretty proud of; in the center almost 60% of all trips is done on bike. A true World Champion
Source Nieuws uit Amsterdam.
