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Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

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51–60 of 380 posts

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#51
post #9

Why wouldn't it be? It's faster than the tram; a bike is cheap and cycling is free; its way easier to park than a car; its healthy; there are cycle paths everywhere (inside and between cities); and everyone else does it, so you usually have company.

> its way easier to park than a car

On the other hand it’s also easier to get a bike stolen than a car.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#52
post #13

Southeast Asia is heavy on bikes, and used to be more so than now, and they didn't have infrastructure or culture --it was need. Japan is heavy into bikes too, and there aren't dedicated lanes, not that I'd object, but it's not necessary to make it popular. The one thing in Japan, where accidents aren't as regular as in southeast Asia, is that both bikes and cars obey traffic signals --I think that helps a lot. Also…

Right, in Japan you don't need dedicated lanes quite as much because of the narrowness of the streets, plus it being accepted to bike on the sidewalk when there's room. And of course density being high in Japan helps.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are you going to get to places in heavy rain or snow?

Bicycles work just fine in rain! And if it's unsafe to ride a bike on the roads due to snow, it's probably significantly more unsafe to drive a x,000 pound vehicle.

...not to mention you can get a bus.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#55
post #50
post #9

Why wouldn't it be? It's faster than the tram; a bike is cheap and cycling is free; its way easier to park than a car; its healthy; there are cycle paths everywhere (inside and between cities); and everyone else does it, so you usually have company.

While cycling is obviously much, much cheaper than a car, I'd argue its a myth to say it's 'free'. Start commuting a _reasonable_ distance regularly by bike and you are going to incur running costs, as well as often not insignificant investment in essential accessories you might need depending on where you live - clothing, panniers, lights, helmets, locks... There's a fair amount of things on a bike that, like many o…

I'm guessing you don't live in a bike friendly country.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#56

From having completed the London to Brighton bike ride at the weekend I have a good idea of what really makes the difference and that is having roads closed to motor vehicles. The London to Brighton route is closed to traffic and some of the rural stretches are as wide as a Dutch bike path. Up until now I have believed sharing the roads is how to go but now I know that cycling infrastructure is needed. It is the expe…

How are you going to get to places in heavy rain or snow?

basically its easier to go by bike than walking in NL when there is snow. Bike paths are cleaned up way faster than anything else :)

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#57
post #15

Bicycles are an amazing transportation tool. Why are they so unpopular everywhere else?

There are many factors, but IMO it has a lot to do with urban sprawl. I'd never consider living somewhere where I'd have to own a car to be able to do my groceries and to go work. In the same idea, I'd never take a job that requires me to do more than a 30 minutes commute by public transportation/biking distance. That makes me a perfect candidate for biking, unfortunately I'm more of an outlier. Most people, including my own family, would think that this way of thinking makes no sense. They all own a car (or two) and have an hour commute each way to be able to afford a bigger house/different lifestyle than they could in the city. Just look at any suburbs: the inhabitants clearly disagree with me.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#58
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While cycling is obviously much, much cheaper than a car, I'd argue its a myth to say it's 'free'. Start commuting a _reasonable_ distance regularly by bike and you are going to incur running costs, as well as often not insignificant investment in essential accessories you might need depending on where you live - clothing, panniers, lights, helmets, locks... There's a fair amount of things on a bike that, like many o…

I'm guessing you don't live in a bike friendly country.

None of these costs have anything to do with location. It was the same when I lived in Copenhagen - arguably doesn't get bike friendlier than that!

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#59
post #50
post #9

Why wouldn't it be? It's faster than the tram; a bike is cheap and cycling is free; its way easier to park than a car; its healthy; there are cycle paths everywhere (inside and between cities); and everyone else does it, so you usually have company.

While cycling is obviously much, much cheaper than a car, I'd argue its a myth to say it's 'free'. Start commuting a _reasonable_ distance regularly by bike and you are going to incur running costs, as well as often not insignificant investment in essential accessories you might need depending on where you live - clothing, panniers, lights, helmets, locks... There's a fair amount of things on a bike that, like many o…

I bougth a second hand bike for 40eur 5 years ago, and I only had to fix the wheel once (5 eur). Never had to buy clothes, special locks or anything fancy... I use it daily...

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#60
post #2

It's mild and flat.

The US has mild and flat cities; none of them touch the Netherlands when it comes to cycling support.

I think it needs to be mild, flat, and dense. And then AFAIK the government made a concerted effort to exploit those traits by building good cycling infrastructure.
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