Tell me where you live and I'll tell you how you ride.
It is less and less unusual to see crowd of bikes in the early morning , on the way to work. These means of transportation sneaked into the city a long time ago and they have come to stay . The reasons to start pedaling grow more every day, but its use also depends on the facilities of the city.
The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has revealed which of them have won the title of the best to tour on wheels in our country, but also those in which we still do not have enough comfort to leave the car in the garage.
The sample has included 4,394 people, cyclists and non-cyclists , in a survey covering ten capitals (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Palma, Las Palmas and Bilbao) . The results may be unexpected, but the citizens have spoken and reasons are not lacking.
Shall we tour the city on pedals?
BIKES ARE FOR... THE CITY
the city that The winner's medal has been hung, by far, Valencia . Seville, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca are also among the best valued. However, if some thought that the size of the city was proportional to its advantages, nothing could be further from the truth. The citizens of Madrid suspend it with a score of 47 out of 100 points.
While Valencia and Seville have the highest percentage of cycling inhabitants (30%), in Palma de Mallorca (10%) and Madrid (14%), continue to prefer other means of transport to get around the city. The capital of Madrid has also been lagging behind on parking availability and traffic conditions to ride a bike.
In his opinions, it has been notable that one of the biggest concerns of users is their safety . Therefore, it is important the network of bike lanes that avoid incorporation into traffic stream. In this case, Valencia and Madrid once again duel as the best and the worst.
The future will be for bicycles, or it will not be.
While cities like Bilbao, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona enjoy some 15 kilometers of bike lanes for every 100 of public roads, in Madrid, barely 1 kilometer is reached . It is logical that the people of Madrid have shown their dissatisfaction when it comes to pedaling through the city.
Another reason that directly affects the use of the bicycle is its availability. Seville and Barcelona enjoy a ratio of 38 rental bikes per 10,000 inhabitants . However, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga have the lowest number (7 per 10,000), followed by Madrid (8 per 10,000).
ARE BICYCLES THE FUTURE?
It is curious and a noteworthy fact that the scarce use of the bicycle is directly affected by the conditions to carry it out. In fact, 22% of those surveyed who do not use the bike would do so if they had adequate infrastructure and enough. In this sack they enter secure car parks to prevent theft, but also the increase in cycle paths.
Little pollution, sport and protection... what else do we want from bicycles?
The truth is this means of transport increasingly occupies the minds of those who need to move throughout the city. The bicycle began to add reasons for its use far beyond mere fun and precisely this year another one of great importance is added: Going by bike reduces the risk of contagion by coronavirus, since it avoids physical contact.
Nevertheless, initiatives such as the Cámbiate al verde campaign of the OCU , in which sustainable consumption is promoted, and others around Europe have been promoting this way of moving for years. This bet has a lot to do with air pollution reduction and sustainability intrinsic to this means of transport.
The decision that citizens increasingly opt for bicycles goes hand in hand with aspects such as the increase in the number of car parks, the connection between all points in the city, the maintenance of its roads or driver education , all of them in the hands of the authorities. Users are becoming clearer every day that bicycles are for the city, but of course also for the future.
Two wheels can change a lot of things...