Seven European transport ministers want to make 2024 the year of cycling. They launched this call on World Cycling Day. The United Nations has declared the 3rd of June World Cycling Day in 2018 to draw attention to the benefits of bicycles.

The seven mobility ministers are asking Europe to develop a genuine cycling policy. Besides Belgian Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), they include the Dutch, French, and Croatian ministers, but Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovakia also signed the proposal.

‘More quality of life’

“A European cycling policy is particularly useful as a lever to accelerate the transition of our economy, to make it smoother and less polluting,” they argue in the joint plea published in the business newspaper De Tijd, among others. “Along with other things, it can ensure jobs stay in Europa and encourage sustainable tourism.”

“In 2024, at the time when citizens go to the ballot box, choosing an issue that connects people is a powerful symbol,” they write. “The bicycle gives us freedom. Creates Jobs. Gives us breathing space and more quality of life.”

Up to 30 million bicycles sold in the EU by 2030

The enthusiasm for cycling also stands out, they write in the joint plea. “In 2021, there were already 9,2% more cyclists in Europe than before the pandemic. Some 22 million bicycles were sold in the EU in 2020. This figure is expected to reach 30 million bicycles sold by 2030.”

The ‘European Cycling Declaration’, which saw the light of day in 2022 at the initiative of Belgium, also juggles interesting figures. The value of the bicycle market in Europe was estimated at 13,2 billion euros in 2016, and approximately 750 000 jobs are linked to cycling in the pan-European region.

Cycling within Europe produces global benefits of 150 billion euros per year, of which 90 billion euros are positive externalities for the environment, public health, and the mobility system. Plus: the estimated yearly EU benefits of bicycle tourism are around 44 billion euros. And the value of the fuel savings brought by cycling is almost 4 billion euros a year.

In the declaration, they also advocate allocating more EU funding to bicycle policy, for example, under the European Green Deal, and to consider the issue of bicycle theft and aim for a harmonized approach regarding national strategies against that phenomenon.

Commission document by summer

The ministers and the other ten countries that signed the ‘European Cycling Declaration’ want to join hands with the European Parliament and the European Commission. In February, European Parliament’s Resolution on developing an EU Cycling Strategy was almost unanimously adopted in Strasbourg.

It sets out a 17-point action plan to develop more cycling infrastructure and lay fertile ground in Europe for bikes. In their targets, they argue for Europeans to double their bicycle mileage by 2030. This amounts to 312 billion kilometers. This, of course, requires investment. The Parliament advocates 20 billion euros to build at least 100 000 kilometers of additional cycling infrastructure, part of a European mobility network. The aim now is to have a document by the summer that harmonizes and concretizes the ambition of all European players.

“Cycling gives us freedom, creates jobs, and gives us breathing space and more quality of life. Thanks to the bicycle, the European flag takes on the soul of the wheel in its stars. Stars that we set in motion. An irreversible step toward sustainable prosperity,” the ministers concluded.