Several women pedal along a bike lane in the center of Valencia, this Monday. Mònica Torres
The bicycle is taking the streets of more and more Spanish cities.
Regular cyclists, those who pedal at least one day a week or more, have gone from 22.4% in 2019 to 32.5% in 2022, that is, from 8.1 to 11 million, with growth close to 40 %.
While if the sporadic ones are added (they ride only on weekends or a few times a year) the figure reaches 57.1% of Spaniards between 14 and 70 years of age.
Four out of ten never use this vehicle.
This is shown by the Bicycle Barometer, the large survey on this means of transport, presented this Wednesday within the framework of the National Environmental Congress and which already reflects the effects of the pandemic and the new networks of bicycle lanes that They have created and expanded several cities.
The last edition was published in 2019 and since then the increase in cyclists has been exponential.
"This growth of the bicycle was unthinkable before the covid," says Antoni Poveda, president of the Network of Cities for the Bicycle, which brings together 750 municipalities in Spain and promotes this survey (carried out on 3,200 people).
“This data reflects the good practices implemented after confinement, such as tactical urban planning and temporary bike lanes, many of which later remained.
You can also see the enormous interest in the bike: in 2020 we ran out of
stock
of bikes and in the following years we have continued to sell more bikes than in 2019 ″, he adds.
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Why women pedal much less than men
Poveda, also a senator from the PSOE, points out that the landscape of the cities is filling up with velocipedes: "People are more aware that the bicycle is health, ecology, and intermodality with public transport is increasingly used, that is, , do part of the journey by bike (public or private) and another by metro, train or bus.
This used to be more sporadic and is becoming more and more common”.
A group of people cycling on the bike path of the Triana Bridge, this Monday in Seville.PACO PUENTES
Esther Anaya, who researches cycling mobility at Imperial College London, points out that regular cyclists are growing but sporadic cyclists (those who use the bike only a few times a year) are decreasing: "This means that there has been a part of those sporadic cyclists who have intensified their use of the bike, or that we have a new batch of people who did not ride a bike before and now use it regularly.
This increase is very good news, since these are people who use this means of transport on their regular trips”.
Indeed, according to the barometer data, those who cycle to work (from once a month to daily) have gone from 25.8% to 36.9%, and in studies it rises from 30.4% to 40.4% ( in both cases, more than 10 points).
For Anaya, "the pandemic has prompted a more intense use of the bicycle, which may be coming from the reduction in the use of public transport that occurred at the beginning, and that we are still dragging."
In his opinion, "this increase is the most direct effect of the creation of cycling infrastructure networks in many Spanish cities, and of traffic planning that makes the streets friendlier and allows people to use the bike safely."
It is clear that progress has been made, but much more could have been done.
“Temporary bike lanes were made, but the pandemic was not used as much as we would have liked to improve and expand the cycling infrastructure and the friendliness of our streets.
Much remains to be done on pollution and climate change.”
Several people pedal along a bike lane in the center of Barcelona.
Carlos Ribas
If cities like Valencia, Barcelona and Valladolid took the opportunity to expand their networks of bike lanes through the center, others, like Madrid, are still far from being friendly to pedaling.
According to the study, the main barriers to cycling in the city are related to motorized traffic and the danger it entails: 51.6% point to the danger of excessive motorized traffic when asked about the main difficulties for move around the city by bicycle and another 41.8% emphasize the lack of adequate roads for the circulation of bicycles.
gender gap
The survey indicates that there is still a gender gap among pedallers: 49.4% of women use a bicycle at some time, compared to 65% of men.
It is true that this gap has narrowed a lot since 2010 (then it was 22.6 points and now it stands at 15.6) but it is still important.
Anaya sums it up like this: “There is still a gender gap because women are still not accessing cycling mobility on an equal footing.
The cycling infrastructure is perceived as less safe for women when it is narrow and poorly protected, and when there is coexistence with cars the speed is very high”.
Two women pedal along a bike lane in Valencia.
Monica Torres
In her opinion, “the concept of security goes beyond road safety, it also includes threats and sexual harassment, which is part of what we women experience on the streets.
When we ride a bike, our bodies are exposed to the public gaze and situations of harassment occur, we are scolded or complimented, they try to touch us... In any case, when women start riding bikes it is positive because they believe an effect called for other women”.
Poveda also highlights that, until 2019, Spain was a country that mainly used the bike for leisure, with which people bought road and mountain bikes.
"But the sale of urban and electric bicycles has grown a lot, which are the most used for forced commutes, to work or studies."
The president of the Network of Cities for the Bicycle also points out that more and more Spanish cities are starting up or expanding public bicycle networks, a fundamental tool for promoting intermodality and sustainable mobility.
10 million for municipalities to build bike lanes
The Ministry of Transport has announced this Wednesday aid of 10 million euros for municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants to build bike lanes and promote the use of this means of transport.
The item, which will be divided into two calls (this year and the following), is launched within the framework of the State Bicycle Strategy (advanced by EL PAÍS) and charged to the General State Budget.
Until now, the largest city councils have been eligible for state aid to build cycling infrastructure from European Next Generation funds, and now this new line is being launched to promote cycling in smaller local entities, which will be managed by the Fundación de Spanish railways.
The funds will be awarded by competition based on their impact, quality, maturity and relevance.
Thus, for example, priority will be given to those projects that facilitate intermodality between public transport and bicycles, making it possible to connect bike lanes with interchanges, railway or bus stations.
Projects that include planning to integrate cycling infrastructures in educational, cultural, health, sports, commercial or business spaces will also be favoured.
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