What role does the bicycle play in the development of sustainable mobility?

Every June 3 since 2018, we celebrate the International Bicycle Day in order to promote its use as an alternative means of transport to the car and is that it is an affordable, simple, reliable and above all sustainable means of transport. Undoubtedly, this means of transport is here to stay, and both citizens, companies, and governments have understood this and must continue to work on its inclusion to help the challenges of mobility.

The positive reception of the bicycle by society has encouraged governments to consider this means of transport as a fundamental element to promote not only healthy and more active lifestyles, but also less polluting mobility models. Public institutions have already taken action and implemented pro-environmental urban legislative regulations. For example, in European cities such as Madrid, Paris, Milan, and Barcelona, governments have implemented regulations limiting urban transport with gasoline and diesel vehicles.

Furthermore, the increase in population, urban traffic, and the serious pollution problems we are currently facing have emphasized the importance of sustainable mobility; and here, the use of bicycles is a simple and agile solution to the global climate crisis.

In fact, it is anticipated that by 2030 there will be 8.5 billion people in the world and 9.7 billion by 2050, and this overpopulation is a planetary emergency that requires the development of alternative and more sustainable forms of mobility that avoid the use of fossil fuels. An example of this trend is the commitment adopted by a total of 56 European countries, which aim to double bicycle transport by 2030. An example of this is the cities of Amsterdam and Oslo, where the bicycle is another means of transport for citizens and more important than the car in some cases. But in addition, as a result of the pandemic, countries such as Spain are also increasingly committed to this means of transport.

On World Bicycle Day, he celebrated the transition we are going through and the acceptance of this means of transport. The bicycle is a key ally for us to develop a more sustainable future and simultaneously contribute to improving the quality of our environment and thus improve our quality of life.