The Copenhagen City Council produces a Bike Audit every couple of years in order to track bicycle usage in the city and plan more bike lanes and other infrastructure.
When they compare the 2006 Audit [Cykelregnskab 2006] with the one from 2004 it shows that the average amount of kilometres the average Copenhagener rides is unchanged. 1.2 million km each day.
Around 50% of cyclists ride up to 50 km each week. Then there is a group of 15% who ride more than 100 km each week.
The numbers for cyclists who ride up to 30 km each week show some interesting results:
34% ride up to 30 km a week to work.
68% ride up to 30 km a week on non-work related errands.
17% ride up to 30 km a week for recreation.
The latter means that 73% use their bikes for non-recreative usage. It is a means of transport, first and foremost, and not a conscious fitness-related vechicle.
That cycling is a good form of exercise, however, is the most important reason for riding for 19% of Copenhageners.
Another 38% mention excercise as one of the reasons.
In comparison, 51% of people say they ride because it is easiest and 45% say they ride because it is fastest.
In 2006, 36% of Copenhageners rode to work. The goal in the City's Cycle Policy is that 50% of the citizens will ride to work and educational institutions. The goal was previously 40% but has now been raised.
The City cites that improved infrastructure, including better controlled bike parking facilities are necessary if the magic 50% goal is to be reached.
Source: Copenhagen City Council's Cykelregnskab 2006
I had a brilliant week in Melbourne as a guest of the State of Design Festival . Loads of interviews and events that all culminated with my keynote speech on the Saturday. There was, however, an event on the Saturday morning - July 26, 2010 - that was extremely interesting to be a part of. A group of citizens, rallied together by filmmaker and bicycle advocate Mike Rubbo , decided to go for a bicycle ride together on Melbourne's new bike share system bikes. A splendid idea. Melbourne's bike share system is shiny new, although unlike most cities in the world with a bike share programme, only 70-odd people are using them each day. In Dublin, by contrast, there are over 30,000 subscribers. Not to mention the cracking successes in Paris, Barcelona, Seville and most of the over 100 cities with such systems. So, a group of people, many of them Copenhagenize.com readers, fancy a bike ride. Sounds lovely enough. They met up at the bike racks at Melbourne University. Hired the bikes wi