Cycling Industries Europe is ending 2022 in a positive frame of mind because the underlying conditions for cycling growth are extremely positive across much of Europe.
Five reasons why we are cheerful:
Bike riding levels are being sustained after the COVID pandemic, and in some countries and sectors they continue to rise.
In the first nine months of 2022 weekday cycling measured by cycle counters in 11 countries rose by a further 7% compared to pre-COVID levels, showing that people are continuing their cycling habits as they start going back to work.
E-bike sharing trips rose by an extraordinary 136% year-on-year as more cities and companies made e-bikes more widely available, showing the incredible capacity of e-bikes to get new people riding.
Cycle logistics didn’t just grow up, it exploded into the mainstream of commercial deliveries.
Research by the City Changer Cargo Bike project showed that this year commercial cargo bikes will generate around €2.5 bn revenues, give work to 170,000 people and save 302,000 tons of CO₂. The world is noticing – cities are supporting the uptake of cyclelogistics and the major logistics operators are expanding their fleets.
The automotive sector is also stepping in with Toyota starting to sell electric cargo bikes and Renault expanding assembly of cargo bikes and the leading industry network in the sector, CIE’s Cargo Bike and Cycle Logistics Expert Group says that this is just the start!
The bike industry commits to being an even greener and more sustainable industry.
We all recognize that using bikes is a green activity, but all industries have to demonstrate that its products stand up to the same scrutiny. It really excites us to see the cycling companies taking a lead with industry-wide pledges, the first of their kind.
2022 saw our Sustainable Packaging Pledge and sustainability experts are now working on a climate pledge with guidelines for members to calculate CO2 footprints and product lifecycles. This industry is not content to follow, with vision and collaboration the cycling industries aim to be European industrial leaders in sustainability.
The EU takes cycling to the core of its green and industrial transitions.
Millions of people took up cycling since 2020, and millions of bikes were sold. This has been recognized as a European success story by the EU institutions and national governments.
In June the EU’s number 2 Frans Timmermans announced “We at the European Commission should work together with the European Parliament on an inter-institutional Declaration on more cycling in Europe.” CIE and our partners have been working to make that declaration into a reality, putting cycling in the core of EU’s mobility and industry policies, with funding for growing cycle use and more “Made in Europe” bikes.
Vision and leadership uniting the cycling movement.
In 2022 It has been empowering for CIE to work with our members and partners to create our Vision for Cycling in Europe.
Cycling is an extraordinarily diverse activity, from children’s play to elite sport, from BMX to commercial deliveries supporting by world-leading businesses to community volunteers.
This diversity means that it is vital to communicate a bold, unifying strategy that we can work towards. Doubling the number of kilometres cycled in Europe is at the core and becoming a green industry that can create another 1 million new cycling jobs. Thank you to everyone who is contributing to this Vision for more cycling, you inspire us daily.
