Rotterdam remedies a lower cycling rate

Rotterdam in the province of South-Holland, is the second largest city in the Netherlands. It is best known for its important port, the busiest in Europe. The cycling rate, although very high compared to any other country, is low for the Netherlands. About 25% of all trips in Rotterdam is by bicycle. This is much lower than Amsterdam, where that figure hovers around 40% or Groningen where it is almost 60%. This may have to do with the fact that Rotterdam is very different from most other cities in the Netherlands.

Rotterdam sky line

Rotterdam is younger than most larger Dutch cities. It started off as a fishing village when around 1270 a dam was built in the river Rotte. Only after the railways and a waterway to the North sea were finished in 1872 the port could really develop. It soon made Rotterdam a proud and important city. A city that was able to build Europe’s first skyscraper and tallest office building in 1898. But Rotterdam lost its historic heart in World War II, when in May 1940 the Nazis bombed away the entire city centre to make the Dutch surrender.

The Centre of Rotterdam in 1940

When the city was rebuilt from the late 1940s the city planned to do that 'according to the demands of modern fast traffic' and after the example of US cities. This resulted in wide multi-lane city boulevards right through the centre and big high rises, on a scale unknown in any other Dutch city. This is the reason that especially visitors from the US can relate to Rotterdam better than to any other city in the Netherlands.

But the 1940s Rotterdam planners also came up with something entirely new: the main shopping area was created as the world's first pedestrianised street. When it was finished in 1953 it soon served as an example for numerous car-free shopping streets around the world.

Luckily a long standing Dutch tradition was also not forgotten and the new wide streets were built including separate bicycle infrastructure. But just building infrastructure has proven not to be enough.
First and foremost the city wanted to strengthen the regional cycle network. It needed to better connect suburbs where people live to the centres where they need to go to do their shopping, go to school and work and stay for leisure etc. It also wanted to create two longer-distance high quality regional routes to Delft/the Hague and to Dordrecht. These should be completely finished by 2013.

Cycle grid Rotterdam: the routes in red were sub-standard

In recent years the city was not satisfied with the current relatively low rate of cycling. Investigations revealed the following possible reasons:

• The quality of the cycle network was not up to modern standards.
• There was a lack of bike parking possibilities with homes.
• There is lower interest in cycling among the non-Dutch/new-Dutch residents.
• The city has exceptionally good public transport (metro/tram/bus/train).

To increase the modal share of cycling the city’s cycling policy and action plan for the years 2007-2011 set a number of goals:

• To make cycling more attractive by making cycle routes safer, faster and of a higher quality.
• To increase the parking possibilities at both beginning and end of cycle journeys.
• To target specific groups to get them to cycle more (youth, working people and immigrants).

Concrete measures to make a cycle route faster involve giving cyclists right of way more often, making short cuts, shorten red times at junctions and making the surface of cycle paths smoother.

Video showing cycling in Rotterdam

Apparently a number of the goals of the policy were met. By looking around the city most of the cycle network seems to be up to standards now and the rate of cycling is rising. This results in more and more cyclists visibly riding on good quality infrastructure in the streets of Rotterdam.

Most of the background data came from the ‘Actieplan Rotterdam fietst’ (Action plan Rotterdam cycles) by the council of Rotterdam on the site of Fietsberaad (in Dutch only).

An article on the fast cycle route between Rotterdam and Delft is available in English.

A touring toolkit

Unless accompanied by a car carrying equipment, cycle tourists need to be self sufficient to some extent. You can't predict when breakdowns will occur. Obviously what tools you carry with you depends on how far you're going and what you think you'll need. Weight is always an issue.

Unless I'm just riding into town and back, I always carry tools with me. A few days ago I decided it was once again time to check that the contents of my tool-kit still made sense. A few items had been used up, like patches, and a few tools needed to change for my new bike.

Everyone travelling any distance will surely carry a pump and spare inner tubes. However, other things are also useful to have. Even on shorter rides, the walk home or to the nearest bike shop can take quite some time, but when riding longer distances and if you may be a longer distance from "civilization" then it's even more important to be well prepared.

At the moment, my toolkit contains the following:

• Multi-tool. This is actually the only new thing in my tool-kit. A Beto multi-tool. It includes all the sizes of spanner, screw-driver and Allen key which I may need. Previously I had to carry more than one such tool to cover everything.
• In the past I also carried a separate chain tool, however my new multi-tool includes one, so that saves a bit more weight.
  
• The puncture repair kit is a Rema Tip-Top kit. I've used these for years as they have, in my opinion, the best quality patches. This one has been part of my kit for years, but is newly stocked with patches and glue.
• When removing and refitting tyres, it is best to do so without using tyre levers as they can damage the tube further. However, if you have tight fitting tyres, or you find yourself doing the work with cold and wet fingers then a good set of tyre levers are well worth having. The Schwalbe tyre levers are well shaped, and wider than most, which minimises the risk of damage. I've had this set for years and they work well.
• Well made wheels shouldn't go out of true in normal use. However, accidents happen and I like to be prepared. Spokey Spoke Keys are perhaps the lightest weight good quality spoke key. Mine has had a lot of use over the years, both building wheels at home as well as straightening them on tour. Usually in order to keep moving with a single broken spoke you merely need to slightly loosen off the two spokes either side of that which is broken so that the wheel straightens out. However, carrying a few spare spokes of the correct size means that replacements can be installed and the wheel can be made perfect again quite quickly.
• A little duct tape wound onto a stick, some bendable wire, and a few zip-ties don't weigh much and don't cost much. However, they can be used for many repairs. In the past I've used tape to hold together broken lights, zip-ties to affix mudguards and wire to keep on a heavily loaded rack.
• The white "paper" in my toolkit is actually cut out of a Tyvek junk mail envelope. It cost nothing and weighs almost nothing, but it is strong enough to make an excellent "boot" to put between inner tube and tyre in the event of a bad cut.
• A pocket knife includes a few tools that the others don't have - such as scissors to cut the Tyvek, a sharp knife which can be used for a range of things, and a bottle opener which is rather a nice thing to have with you for a beer at the end of a long day.

Things not shown in the photo include the inner tubes (I carry two, and do any puncture repairs needed at the end of the day if possible), a spare folding tyre in case of damage to a tyre, chain links to join a broken chain, and a spare brake cable. Of course, I also carry a pump.

Different people have different ideas, of course, and some like to travel lighter than others. We've ideas for a touring toolkit in our webshop.

Beware the cyclists of Spring...

They look innocent enough, but beware...

I'm sure many people in the Northern Hemisphere have noticed the number of extra cyclists who've appeared recently.

It's the same here in the Netherlands.

I went on a great social ride today, and we saw literally thousands of other cyclists on a ride through the countryside North East, returning through the centre of Groningen and between there and Assen. Thousands were out enjoying the sun on their bikes. Yes, even here cycling gets a boost at this time of year.

So what's the problem ?

I have to be clear that the these extra cyclists are of course no problem at all. It would be ridiculous to complain about there being more cyclists out when the weather is beautiful as it has been today, than a few weeks ago when the temperatures were hovering around zero and it was misty.

However, there's a danger here for campaigners. Every year at about this time, people forget that they're looking at an annual trend and think there has been a genuine increase in the rate of cycling. It all looks so positive, so real. I've often wondered if the boost each spring is the reason why campaigners often seem convinced that cycling is "on the up" when year on year figures in many countries show it is reducing or stagnant. Human memory is fallible and easily fooled by a temporary boost which hides a long term trend.

Spring, or September, are both good times of year to make impressive sounding cycle counts. The numbers which result are far better than if you take an average over the entire year. However, accurate counts and accurate statistics about cycling result not from this but from mundane counting procedures.

At this time of year, it looks positive not just where you live, but everywhere. Enjoy it. Ride your bikes a lot. However, keep in the back of your mind that this doesn't necessarily mean that any progress has been made.

Campaigning has to carry on, based on facts and not just on how pleasant it is to ride on a sunny day. More people will cycle everywhere if subjective and sustainable safety are provided.

To achieve a high modal share and excellent degree of cyclists for cyclists of all ages, the Netherlands provides the best example to copy. However, even when looking to the Netherlands, campaigners need to vigilant as it is all too common for the whole point of things to be lost in translation when taken to another place.

Enjoy spring and summer, ride your bikes a lot, but keep your eyes on the prize.

Rotterdam cyclists

Most of the Netherlands’ highest buildings can be found in Rotterdam and no other Dutch city has so many 4 lane streets right through the center. Foreigners report Rotterdam is the city in the Netherlands they can best relate to. But… unlike most of their home towns, Rotterdam has a complete network of high quality bicycle infrastructure.

More on Rotterdam in an upcoming blog-post. But first, this teaser:

Bike share the Dutch way

On the "bike sharing world map" there is one strikingly blank country. You guessed it: the Netherlands. You could think that in a country of 16 million who possess 18 million bikes there would be no need for sharing bikes. But that would be wrong: the Dutch do share bikes and on a large scale.

Since 2007 when Paris first started (after the example of Lyon), every self-respecting modern city seems to have bike share. Milan, Brussels, Bogota, London, Melbourne: some 200 cities worldwide. It is interesting that most of these schemes call itself 'free'. Yes, the first half hour is free, but keep the bike 2 hours and it will cost you 7 euros (Paris) or 6 pounds (London). Keep it even longer and Paris charges you a ridiculous 151 euros for 20 hours! Clearly these programs are designed for short use. For single trips, not round trips. If you have a meeting somewhere in town you can only hope the meeting place has a nearby bike-station too, for the rental fee would cost you dearly after a two hour meeting.

The Dutch have –like so many things to do with cycling- a different approach. Their nation wide program started in 2003*. What the Dutch started was not so much new, it was modernising what had existed in the country for decades. Almost every train station in the Netherlands has manned bike parking facilities and in most of those it has always been possible to hire a bike. But every station had its own way of doing things which took a lot of time and hassle.

In 2008 the national OV-fiets program was taken over by the Dutch Railways*. Literally the name means 'Public Transport bicycle'. That is exactly what it is: an extension of public transport. Trains go almost everywhere in the Netherlands, but they do not get you entirely from A to B. To bridge that final part of your journey this bike scheme is perfect.

The very visible yellow/blue public transport bikes

How does it work

You become a member for 10 euros per year. You get a subscription card with a pin-code or the subscription is directly connected to the card you already possess for train travel. That way you don’t end up with multiple cards in your wallet and it is once more underlining the fact that this is an extension of your train travel. With the card you can hire bicycles. In a manned station you simply present the card. The person manning the bikes scannes your card and the bike you take with you and you are on your way. Takes about 5 seconds. The hire fee is always for a 24 hour period and costs you just 3 euros which is less than a round trip by bus in any Dutch city. You can go where ever you want to go with the bike and you can even take it overnight. It has a lock so you can also park it. This scheme is designed for (longer) round-trips. It expects you to return to the train station to get back to where you initially started your journey.

When you return, the bike gets scanned again and you can continue home by train. If you kept the bike longer, the next 24 hour period costs you 5 euros extra.

There are also un-manned stations where the system works just like any other electronic bike scheme. You swipe your card and enter your pin-code. A bike is electronically released and you take it with you.

The fee for the bike hire is automatically withdrawn from your bank account. A standard payment procedure in the Netherlands and this is arranged when you become a member. You can keep track of your journeys on-line.



The scheme is a success. About 85,000 people are member now. They made 835,000 trips in 2010 alone from one of the 230 bike hire stations that can be found all over the country. The bright yellow/blue bikes (the colours of the Dutch Railways) are very visible in the streets of the Netherlands.

This bike hire scheme is really designed for residents, as it involves a membership that has to be arranged in advance. But for tourists other bikes can be rented from almost every train station too.

About 230 rental stations all over the country

I have had a subscription for OV-fiets for two years now. And it is wonderful, it really gets you to many more destinations. I have found myself cycling in places where I had never cycled before. What I like best is that with one subscription you can hire two bikes. So when you are on a journey with a friend you can both cycle to the end-destination together.

Shared bikes can be very convenient on a personal level. But they can never be an important factor in mode share. For that you need people riding their own bicycles.

* Update: Initially I stated the program started in 2008 but that turned out to be incorrect. The facts are as stated now.

Some figures:

Year	Locations	Subcriptions	Bikes	Rides
2004	70	11,000	800	100,000
2005	84	20,000	1,300	189,000
2006	101	30,000	2,500	250,000
2007	140	43,000	3,000	335,000
2008	182	51,000	?	480,000
2009	200	67,000	4,500	670,000
2010	230	85,000	5,000	835,000

More cycle parking at Groningen railway station

The Fietsberaad reports that Groningen is still trying to find more space for cycle parking at the railway station.

Just ten years ago, there were only around 3000 cycle parking spaces at the station. In 2007 the Stadsbalkon was opened, this was originally intended to increase capacity to 4500 spaces, but it became obvious during building that this wasn't enough and actual capacity at the end of 2007 was nearly 6000 spaces. However, this was also not enough. In 2010, another 1000 spaces were added to the Stadsbalkon, and then an extra park was opened bringing capacity to an offical 9280 spaces, enough for one in 20 of the city's population to have a bicycle parked in racks at the railway station.

However, there are frequently over 10000 bikes parked at the railway station, and so this is being expanded again. The local government is providing an extra 500 cycle parking spaces each year until 2015 and residents have been asked where this should go.

More cycle parking at Duiven railway station

Duiven is a small town of 22600 people. The Fietsberaad reports that here too, the cycle parking is being expanded at the railway station.

Actually, in this case so is the car parking, from 45 to 89 parking places. The cycle parking, on the other hand, is being expanded from 640 to 1128 parking places. Of these, 136 will be secure lockers for bikes.

After the new cycle park is opened, Duiven will have a bike parking space at the railway station for every 20 residents. This is a fairly typical ratio in the Netherlands for railway station cycle parking.

Duiven is also to be the first place to receive an underground dispenser for OV-Fietsen. Other dispensers are above ground and take up more space. The underground version will take just 2 m x 3 m at ground level. Bikes in the store can be arranged at a spacing of just 20 cm apart making good use of the available space.

Some of Duiven's existing cycle parking can be seen on Google Maps Street View:

Grotere kaart weergeven

OV-Fiets is the remarkably often ignored Dutch bike share system. It's probably the largest in the world now, as it provides thousands of bikes across the whole country. It is designed particularly to complement public transport journeys by providing a bike to ride after you reach your destination.