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In the previous year, 506.159 new ones were registered in Austria Cycles sold, more than twice as many as cars. Cycling is a rapidly growing economic factor in Austria, he says VCÖ on the occasion of World Bicycle Day on June 3rd. In the previous year, seven times as many electric bicycles were sold as electric cars. The conditions for more cycling are good in Austria: three out of four households have at least one functional bicycle, four out of ten car journeys are shorter than five kilometers. However, there is a lot of catching up to do when it comes to cycling infrastructure. The mobility organization VCÖ calls for an infrastructure offensive for cycling.
“Austria is already a cycling country. In order for it to also become a cycling country, the cycling infrastructure needs to be expanded”, states VCÖ expert Michael Schwendinger.
74 percent of Austria's households have at least one functional bicycle, in the province of Salzburg it is even 87 percent. The bicycle market is booming. In the last four years alone, 1,93 million new bicycles were sold in Austria, 900.000 more than cars, according to a current VCÖ analysis. In the previous year, 506.159 bicycles were sold, 15,3 percent more than in 2019, while the number of newly registered cars fell by 2019 percent compared to 34,7 to 215.050. The electric bicycle is the best-selling electric vehicle in Austria: in the previous year alone, 246.728 electric bicycles were sold, more than seven times as many as electric cars.
One third of Austria's population uses bicycles frequently as a means of transport, and another third at least occasionally rides them. In the last Austria-wide survey in 2013/2014, the proportion of bicycle traffic was just over six percent. Austria's cycling champion is Vorarlberg with a cycling share of 16 percent in 2017. In Lower Austria it was seven percent in 2018, the VCÖ informs. A cycling boom has been evident since the corona pandemic. In Vienna, for example, the share of cycling has increased by two percentage points from seven percent in 2019 to nine percent in each of the past three years.
“The potential for more cycling in Austria is huge. Using it would bring Austria closer to the climate goals, reduce the dependence of transport on oil, save households a lot of money and bring great health benefits through more exercise and thus also relieve the health system," emphasizes VCÖ expert Michael Schwendinger. In Austria, four out of ten car journeys on workdays are shorter than five kilometers, which is an ideal cycling distance. Six out of ten car journeys are shorter than ten kilometers, which is manageable for many with electric bicycles. “A prerequisite for the increased shift from car journeys to bicycles is a good and safe cycling infrastructure both in the cities and especially in the regions. Far too often in regions, the only connection between a settlement and the nearest town is an open road, which means that many short distances are also driven by car,” emphasizes VCÖ expert Michael Schwendinger.
The VCÖ calls for an infrastructure offensive for cycling. Internationally, more and more metropolitan areas are relying on cycle expressways as a connection between the surrounding area and the city. Separate, safe cycle paths are required along open country roads. The example of the B83 in Carinthia shows that these can also be created inexpensively, where near Arnoldstein a green strip was milled out of the oversized road and a cycle path was created next to it. In municipalities and cities, the conditions for cycling can be improved favorably for the population by introducing a speed limit of 30 km/h over a large area.
VCÖ: In Austria, twice as many bicycles are sold as cars (Number of new bicycles sold / newly registered cars)
Year 2022: 506.159 bicycles / 215.050 cars
Year 2021: 490.394 bicycles / 239.803 cars
Year 2020: 496.000 bicycles / 248.740 cars
Year 2019: 439.000 bicycles / 329.363 cars
Total: 1.931.553 bicycles / 1.032.956 cars
Source: VSSÖ, Statistics Austria, VCÖ 2023
VCÖ: Electric bicycles are the best-selling electric vehicle (Number of new e-bikes sold / newly registered e-cars)
Year 2022: 246.728 electric bicycles / 34.165 electric cars
Year 2021: 221.804 electric bicycles / 33.366 electric cars
Year 2020: 203.515 electric bicycles / 15.972 electric cars
Year 2019: 170.942 electric bicycles / 9.242 electric cars
Source: VSSÖ, Statistics Austria, VCÖ 2023
Photo / Video: Photo by Alejandro Lopez on Unsplash.
