Apr 25, 2024 19:00:00

In Paris, where a bicycle promotion plan is underway, bicycles have surpassed cars in terms of share of transportation modes.

In Paris, France, Mayor

Anne Hidalgo is implementing reforms to promote bicycle use, and the city is becoming more cyclist-friendly. In a 2022-2023 survey of the means of transportation people use in Paris, bicycles accounted for 11.2% of the total, compared to 4.3% for cars, and bicycles surpassed cars.

The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use | Lifestyle | EL PAÍS English
https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2024-04-24/the-cycling-revolution-in-paris-continues-bicycle-use-now-exceeds-car-use.html

Rue de Rivoli in central Paris is a major traffic artery that passes in front of the Paris City Hall and the Louvre Museum . During rush hour, it is crowded with tourists and commuters, and about five years ago, it was almost entirely filled with cars.

However, in recent years, Mayor Hidalgo has been promoting policies to support bicycle transportation in Paris, and two-way bicycle lanes have been created on the Rue de Rivoli. As a result, the Rue de Rivoli is now a place where many bicycles can be seen during rush hour.

The bicycle reform has led to a situation where bicycle lanes are jammed on sunny days due to the high density of bicycles, and bicycles sometimes even collide with each other. Mayor Hidalgo is trying to improve this situation by installing bicycle lanes on the streets parallel to the Rue de Rivoli.

According to the latest municipal data from Paris, the total length of roads in Paris where bicycles can travel has reached 1,000 km, of which more than 300 km are bicycle-only lanes. Paris authorities want to make the entire city suitable for bicycle travel by 2026, and Mayor Hidalgo, who is serving her second term from 2020, has secured $250 million (about 38.9 billion yen), $100 million more than in the previous term, for bicycle reform.

However,

the Paris en Selle association, a cyclists' group in Paris, pointed out that more than 60 percent of Mayor Hidalgo's second term has passed and only 27 percent of her original cycling plans have been implemented. Deputy Mayor of Paris David Belliard responded by acknowledging delays, but insisting that cycling in Paris has increased significantly.

The number of bicycles already exceeds the number of cars on some major streets, and Paris' municipal bicycle rental service, Vélib , has introduced 3,000 new bicycles since March 2024 alone. A 62-year-old woman who has lived in Paris for many years commented that in the early 1980s, it was very dangerous to travel by bicycle, but in recent years, even women can ride bicycles safely.

According to a survey by the Paris Région Institute , an urban planning organization in Paris, 11.2% of the means of transportation used for travel in Paris from 2022 to 2023 were bicycles, while cars accounted for only 4.3%. In 2021, bicycles accounted for 5.6% and cars for 9%, indicating a significant increase in bicycle users in just one or two years.

The survey also found that not only Parisians but also residents of the suburbs prefer to use bicycles, with 14% of trips being by bicycle and 11.8% by car. This trend is even more pronounced during rush hour, when 18.9% of trips are by bicycle and 6.6% by car.

The increase in bicycle use in Paris is due to the public transport strike in December 2019 to protest against the government's pension reforms and the city lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Paris City Hall, car traffic in the city has decreased by 40% over the past 12 years.

However, the sudden change in transportation methods has also caused various frictions and confusion. Mayor Hidalgo also acknowledged this point, saying, 'Such a sudden change in habits is accompanied by tensions on the street. It takes time for everyone to find their place and feel safe,' and argued that cyclists should be aware that they are using public space and follow the rules. In the summer of 2023, posters will be posted all over the city to promote rules such as 'pedestrians have priority on the road' and 'maximum speed is 30 km/h.'

In the future, Paris authorities plan to improve infrastructure to accommodate the increasing number of cyclists, including plans to increase the number of bicycle parking spaces in the city to more than 130,000 spaces.