Finding quality methods for transportation to get where you need to go can be difficult today. The pollution caused by many of the cars on the road, along with the buses and trains that are in use, is a big problem in many places around the world. As countries look for better ways to help ease this problem and the burden it is placing on the environment and the climate, more places are turning back to looking at healthier, safer and effective forms of transportation like biking as an alternative. Major cities around the world have tried to open up biking opportunities and here are some of the most bike-friendly cities in the world where you can find many bikers, programs designed for biking and quality biking environments.
By: David Hall
- Copenhagen – Copenhagen ranks as the most bike-friendly city in the world right now. Copenhagen has the largest percentage of people using bikes for commuting to work, with over 45 percent of people biking to work each day. The city has invested heavily in making a better biking infrastructure so it is easier to get around, offers protected bike lanes, superhighways for cycling and a strong cycling culture that is impressed upon residents of the city. The city is built in such a way that it is simply easier and faster to get around on bike than it is via car or bus.
By: herval
- Amsterdam – Amsterdam has consistently been ranked as one of the top cycling cities in the world. In fact, it is estimated that over 60 percent of the people within the city use their bikes each day in order to get around the city in the inner city area while 40 percent use bikes in the greater Amsterdam areas. Amsterdam had been ranked as the top city last year and is always among the top cities because it is designed well for bicycle use, has many areas set up for parking and riding specifically and more innovations continue to be made.
- Strasbourg, France – The city is new to the list of the top biking cities, but it has long been considered a wonderful biking city. There are over 300 miles of biking routes in the city and a prominent bike share program throughout the city that helps to promote cycling efforts. You can even find bikes in the share programs that are customized with seats for children, baskets for storage and more and many people are able to arrange long-term agreements.
There are many great cities around the world that make the list of the top 20 bike-friendly cities, and many of them can primarily be found in Europe where biking is much more prominent. There are major cities in North America that are working on improving their biking efforts and as more people turn to biking as a healthier and more affordable alternative to getting around it is likely that there will be increases in areas that had never seen an increase before.