Numerous international cities demonstrate that a large share of cycling is possible, for example Copenhagen with a share of 28 percent, Münster with about 40 percent or Oldenburg with 43 percent.^10,11,12 In Amsterdam, 36 percent of the inhabitants cycle on working days.¹³ However, not only large cities have great potential for cycling. In the Netherlands, there are 202 small cities where the share of cycling exceeds the car mode share.¹⁴

Gaining new target groups as a main goal

An established typology shows that, apart from seven percent of “enthused and confident” riders and one third of the “no way, no how” type, the largest category is the “interested but concerned” group with a 60 percent share.¹⁵ This group prefers safe, physically separated cycle facilities and can be targeted by investing in high-quality cycling paths.¹⁶ The share of cycling can only be significantly raised if cycling planners focus on the needs of this target group.

An analysis based on 62 international cities shows that what is important for a high-quality cycling infrastructure is not so much the total length or individual sections but the functionality and quality of the network. Continuity, directness and comprehensive accessibility of all relevant city districts are thus basic requirements for a cycle network to work well.

To this end, city-wide planning and growth strategies are crucial – and also more cost-efficient. The study suggests that piecemeal improvements over decades or separate planning for individual districts or neighbourhoods make a poor growth strategy and increase the required investments by at least three times.¹⁷

Rising popularity of cycling

Different factors such as increasing health and climate awareness and the growing trend of e-bikes are making cycling more popular. In a representative survey conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic in autumn 2020, 62 percent of the Austrian population assumed that the use of bikes would increase in the long run after the end of the pandemic.¹⁸ In Vienna, the number of cyclists reached a record high in the first quarter of 2022, with a 76-percent increase over the first quarter of 2018 and a 26-percent rise compared to 2019.¹⁹

The popularity of e-bikes has contributed to this trend. In Austria, about 865,000 e-bikes were sold in the years from 2017 to 2021, which is about twelve times the number of e-cars.^20,21 Of the approximately 490,000 bikes sold in 2021, the market share of e-bikes was 45 percent and the sales share even 73 percent.²²

Exploiting the potential of e-bikes by expanding infrastructure

Using an e-bike significantly increases the distance that can be travelled. Data from Vorarlberg has shown that commutes made by e-bike are 25 percent longer on average than those made on conventional bikes, while total daily journeys are even 49 percent longer.²³ However, this potential due to the greater range can only be exploited if a supra-local cycling infrastructure for longer distances is available. In the Copenhagen metropolitan area, there are already about 200 kilometres of cycle superhighways available, and the network is to be expanded to 850 kilometres by 2045.²⁴

The Hamburg metropolitan region plans to build 300 kilometres of cycle highways.^25,26 In Austria, the federal states of Vorarlberg and Lower Austria have each announced plans to create 200 kilometres of cycle highways.^27,28

Planning for possible future demand

The new version of the official guidelines and regulations for road construction (RVS) for bicycle traffic published in April 2022 not only includes a chapter on bicycle parking facilities but also, for the first time, covers the topic of fast cycling routes.²⁹ The RVS guidelines represent the current state of the art and are applied for the planning of road infrastructure in practice.³⁰ Other new features are the replacement of minimum and standard widths by base widths plus additional space depending on the volume of bicycle traffic, and the introduction of a demand criterion which will allow cycling planners to take into account possible future demand.³¹ This ensures that proactive network design is incorporated as a principle in the RVS guidelines.

Cycling requires large investments

When it comes to infrastructure, a principle of traffic science applies: supply creates demand.Therefore, to boost the cycling modal share, a consistent expansion strategy for the cycling infrastructure is required. In May 2022, a study was published which estimates the investment required to achieve the cycle network plan in Austria. The planned or calculated regional cycling infrastructure is to be about as long as the higher-ranking road network. For settlement areas with at least 100 inhabitants, the planned or calculated local cycling infrastructure is set to have at least four kilometres of cycle routes per square kilometre, in Vienna ten kilometres. The estimated investment required for the intermediate of three scenarios is up to 696 million euros per year until 2030, of which almost 90 percent are earmarked for the expansion of the cycle route infrastructure.³² However, much more money goes to the already well-developed road network. By comparison, publicly-owned road operator Asfinag invests more than one billion euros every year in the maintenance and expansion of motorways and expressways, and another three billion euros are paid by federal states and municipalities for road construction.^33,34

The per capita investment in a region can be used as a benchmark for the status quo of investments. A minimum of 30 euros per capita and year is generally assumed, for instance in Germany’s current National Cycling Plan, to be a reference value triggering significant mode shift effects toward more cycling.^35,36 The city of Münster invested about 33 euros per capita in cycling in 2020.³⁷ Copenhagen spent about 36 euros, Oslo 70 euros and Utrecht 132 euros.³⁸ According to the investment study, Austria has to invest about 77 euros per capita and year to ensure implementation of the planned or calculated cycling infrastructure by 2030.

Austria still has a long way to go. In the period from 2011 to 2015, the federal states invested an average of four euros, and the state capitals five euros per capita and year in cycling.² According to the cycling strategy of the city of Salzburg, about one million euros has been invested in cycling annually so far; an increase to two million euros is called an “ambitious” development strategy and a rise to four million euros a “top level” development strategy. The figure per capita is currently six euros, the costs for the ambitious goal would be 13 euros and that for the top-level target 25 euros.⁹ In Vienna, more than 100 million euros are earmarked for cycling infrastructure expansion in the 2020-2025 legislative term, which is about ten euros per capita and year.³⁹

Legislation may reduce investment costs

Especially in densely built-up areas, the space available for physically separated cycling paths is often very limited. If one assumes an average rate of 600,000 euros per kilometre of physically separated cycling path, the investment costs for a cycle route network alongside municipal roads with a 50 km/h speed limit would add up to several billion euros in Austria.^32,a The RVS guidelines lay down that, depending on the volumes of traffic, with a 30 km/h speed limit, cycling on the carriageway is possible in mixed traffic.²⁹ Thus, imposing 30 km/h speed limits and two-way cycling in one-way streets can reduce investment costs significantly in the local network if traffic volumes also go down.⁴⁰ The problem of limited road widths and the resulting gaps in the cycle network can be solved in many cases by extending 30 km/h speed limits to more roads and enabling cycling in mixed traffic.

In Austria, Graz is a role model in this respect. Already back in 1992, the city introduced a 30 km/h default speed limit on all urban roads, with the exception of priority roads.⁴¹ Internationally, 30 km/h speed limits are also becoming increasingly popular. For example, Spanish cities implemented a 30 km/h speed limit on about 80 percent of all roads in May 2021.⁴² In August 2021, Paris introduced a 30 km/h default speed limit on all roads in the city centre, except for a few ring roads, arterial roads and transport links.⁴³ In Austria, the municipal council of Innsbruck voted in March 2022 to implement a 30 km/h default speed limit.⁴⁴

Two-way cycling in one-way streets

Another cost-efficient measure to improve the cycling infrastructure is allowing cyclists to travel against the flow in one-way streets.⁴⁵ In the interest of traffic safety, a 30 km/h speed limit should be a prerequisite for this.⁴⁶ In Vienna, for example, 354 kilometres, or about 40 percent, of the 813 kilometres of one-way streets were open for cycling against the traffic flow in 2020, compared to a mere 89 kilometres in 2000.^47,48 In Innsbruck, cyclists are allowed to ride two-way in 60 (44 percent) of the 136 one-way streets.⁴⁹

According to the RVS guidelines for bicycle traffic, two-way cycling in one-way streets can also be implemented with lane widths of less than 3.5 metres provided that certain conditions such as the provision of passing places and sufficient meeting sight distance are fulfilled.²⁹ At an international level, cycling against the traffic flow has already been implemented in many countries, for example, in Belgium – already from three meters’ lane width – since 2002, in France since 2010 and in Switzerland since 2016. Where cycling against the flow in one-way streets is too dangerous owing to local conditions, it can be forbidden with due justification.⁴⁶ In Austria, a decree by the competent authority has been required for each one-way street so far. In the course of drafting the 33rd amendment to the Austrian road traffic regulations (StVO) in 2022, a new regulation will be voted on.