Seville: the cycling capital of southern Europe

Spain remains far from a paradise for bikes – yet cycling has increased 11-fold in Seville in the space of a few years. Is this proof that any city can get lots of people riding by building an ambitious network of connected, segregated bike lanes? tour around the network reveals fewer cyclists than normal, mainly due to what is, for local standards, something of a cold snap (it is sunny and 11C, a temperature at which Sevillans seemingly require down jackets, thick gloves and hats).But plenty of cyclists are out and what is noticeable to a British eye is both their variety and the ordinariness. The variety comes from the riders themselves – a seemingly equal gender split, with ages going from children to people well into their 70s. Net result is not Dutch or Danish levels of cycling, but nonetheless impressive. The average number of bikes used daily in the city rose from just over 6,000 to more than 70,000. The last audit, about a year ago, found 6% of all trips were made by bike, rising to 9% for non-commuter journeys. Read on here.

Cycling key in reducing urban air pollution

A new study has been published arguing that a modal shift from cars to bicycles will help to cut air pollution in Europe. According to the study, non-technical measures, such as increasing cycling and bringing in restrictions on cars, such as car-free zones, can provide clear improvements in air quality. A core finding was that the stronger the action taken by city authorities, the better the result. Commissioned by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and conducted by consultancy Ricardo-AEA, the study examined transport pollutants NO_x, NO₂ and PM₁₀ using five European cities – Antwerp, London, Nantes, Seville and Thessaloniki – as case studies. According to the ECF, the city of Seville managed to comply with EU limit values for air pollution due to raising the modal share of cycling from 0.5% to 7% through investment in cycling and measures to reduce motorised traffic. There has been mounting concern over the health and economic impact of air pollution in Europe’s urban areas. While EU limits have been introduced, in many cities there remains a failure to comply. 

Bike-sharing since 1890 in India

Master's Programme Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics

The Master of Science in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics (“STREEM”) is a one-year master’s programme offered at the Department of Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam, which is one of the main players world-wide in these three fields of specialization. This master will be of interest to students with a background not only in economics, but also in geography, transport science and related disciplines. The programme starts in September each year and is completely taught in English. More detailed information is provided at the website. The application deadline for the next academic year is 1 April, 2015 (and 1 March, 2015, if applying for a scholarship). The admission and application procedure can be found here. In addition to the master’s programme STREEM, we offer a summer school (3 ects) on Metropolitan Economics from 6-17 July, 2015. This might be of interest to the same group of students. It addresses economic mechanisms behind urbanization, urban policy challenges, as well as policy instruments to address these. More information can be found on the website. We look forward to welcoming new students at our department!

Last call for the European Cycling Challenge 2015

The European Cycling Challenge – ECC2015 is a urban cyclists team competition. It will take place from 1 to 31 May. Tt is a challenge among European cities: the city that “rides” the longest total distance wins! The challenge is open to all people living in participating cities, or travelling to/from those cities for work, study or other reason. All trips made by bicycle – except for sport activities – are accepted. For instance: journeys to and from workplace, school, cinema, to have shopping, etc… are valid journeys. The initiative, which is held every year throughout the month of May, sees the participating cities (each with its own official team) challenge each other in using bicycles as the method of urban transport. The European Cycling Challenge is organized by SRM, the Public Transport Authority of Bologna, and by the Municipality of Bologna. Those who participate are able to trace their movements with a free, smartphone App, contributing to the grand total of kilometers travelled in their city. The leaderboards are updated in real time, both on a local (between participants in a city) and European level (between cities), and are a fun way for citizens, colleagues and friends to compete both against each other and against rival cities. Read on here.

Bogotá Bicycle Account

Bogotá’s reputation as a bike-friendly city dates to the late 1990s with two mayors that promoted bicycles as a viable mode of transportation and developed bikeways and other infrastructures. Although bicycle promotion and infrastructure construction have lagged since then, bicycle use in the city has steadily increased from around 0.5% of daily trips in 1996, before the construction of the first bikeways, to 6% in 2014. Bogotá 2014 Bicycle Account presents a preliminary English-language study of trends, perceptions and needs for cycling in Bogotá. It uses a combination of empirical data on bicycle infrastructure and use in Bogotá and survey data on social perceptions of bicycle use in the city. The Bicycle Account was produced by Despacio, a Bogotá-based NGO that conducts research to promote quality of life in all stages of the life cycle, with a particular focus on sustainable transport and urban development. Despacio hopes to produce future bicycle accounts to monitor and better understand the situation in Bogotá. This report can also serve as a model for other cities around the world wishing to do similar work.Summary and full doc is available here. 

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