France: bicycle usage up in Ile-de-France in past 10 years

The number of bicycle trips in Ile-de-France, Paris, doubled to 650,000 trips between 2004 and 2014, according to the IAU, a local urbanisation think tank and policy adviser. Bicycles are used mainly for commuting to work and the average trip is 2km. In Paris, where bicycles were almost non-existent 15 years ago, they now make up 3% of trips in the city and 8% of work-home trips. But half of trips of less than 2km are still made in cars, the IAU noted. Despite an increase in bicycle usage, the number of
December 15, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The number of bicycle trips in Ile-de-France, Paris, doubled to 650,000 trips between 2004 and 2014, according to the IAU, a local urbanisation think tank and policy adviser.

Bicycles are used mainly for commuting to work and the average trip is 2km. In Paris, where bicycles were almost non-existent 15 years ago, they now make up 3% of trips in the city and 8% of work-home trips.

But half of trips of less than 2km are still made in cars, the IAU noted.

Despite an increase in bicycle usage, the number of accidents is stable, suggesting that it is safer to ride a bicycle now than a decade ago. The statistic also coincides with a police crackdown on drinking and driving.

The increase in bicycle usage also has come during the Velib bicycle rental scheme, launched in 2007. Velib – from velo for bicycle and  lib from liberty – has a fleet of 20,000 bikes and 1,800 rental stations around the city. Cyclists can pick up a bike from one of the stations and drop it back at any station they choose.

Related Content

  • Higher production from all-wheel-drive haulers
    August 2, 2012
    The improvements to articulated dump trucks (ADTs) have been substantial in recent years. Comparing a present day machine with one from 20 or even just 10 years ago shows how far design has come. Major improvements have been made in visibility, operator comfort levels, rough terrain performance, driveline efficiency and productivity, to name but a few key areas. All of the latest generation ADTs available on the world market now come with Tier 3/Stage IIIA compliant diesels that produce far lower noise and
    Read More
  • Brazil Tamoio highway and São Sebastião tunnel work
    July 5, 2016
    Brazil’s Tamoio Highway and São Sebastião tunnel construction is of major importance – Mauro Nogarin reports. The modernisation and expansion of Brazil’s Tamoio highway is a major project for Brazil. The project has an estimated cost of $1.5 billion and work on the first section from Planalto was completed in January 2014, costing around $350 million. The project is being managed by the state-owned agency DERSA, which deals with road development. According to the concessionaire for the Tamoios highway p
    Read More
  • Pavement recycling using cement
    July 12, 2012
    Carlos Jofré, technical director of the Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications (IECA), introduces, on behalf of EUPAVE*, a sustainable technique to rehabilitate fatigued pavements Recycling of pavements is a technique whereby an existing degraded pavement is modified and transformed into a homogeneous structure that can support the traffic requirements. More specifically, it involves reusing the materials from the existing pavement for the construction of a new layer, including the pulverisation o
    Read More
  • Kapsch wins in Madrid for an intelligent mobility system
    December 14, 2017
    Madrid City Council has selected Kapsch to implement an intelligent mobility system. Kapsch said that its EcoTrafiX system will be used to obtain data on the real mobility status in the city using artificial vision cameras and so-called big data techniques. The project investment is €1.9 million. The goal is to capture comprehensive data to identify traffic situations, including all mobility modes - pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and cars.
    Read More

Highlighted Content