Cycling at the Transport Research Arena Warsaw 2016 – Joining the Mainstream

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19 May, 2016

The Transport Research Arena (TRA), Europe’s largest research conference on transport, was organised in Warsaw from 18 to 21 April this year. Compared to previous editions of the biannual event and thanks to the efforts of ECF and its global network Scientists for Cycling, cycling played a more central role in the conference programme – a clear sign of its recognition as a transport mode in its own right.

ECF was invited by the TRA Programme Committee to organise a session on cycling research. Moderated by ECF Secretary General Bernhard Ensink, the session featured four presentations on recent publications and research results from different disciplines related to cycling:

John Parkin from the University of the West of England in Bristol presented current issues in cycling research, based on the publication “Cycling Futures”
The study “A Global High Shift Cycling Scenario” on the worldwide CO₂ and energy saving potential of increased cycling was presented by Jacob Mason from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)
Randy Rzewnicki, health policy expert at the ECF, presented ECF's new report on recommendations to increase the use of the WHO’s Health Economic Assessment Tool for Cycling in Europe.
An analysis of Poland’s changes in cycling policy and investments since the country’s accession to the EU was given by Andrzej Zalewski, professor at the Warsaw University of Technology.

Besides the presentations, the session provided an excellent opportunity for debate and networking for researchers interested in cycling issues.

ECF/Scientists for Cycling session at TRA Warsaw 2016

There was also a technical session focusing on cycling and two-wheelers organised during the conference. Podium presentations focused on the deployment of innovations in the cycling sector like e-bikes and public bike systems, but also on the question of how to enhance utilitarian cycling. ECF presented its recent studies on the economic benefits of cycling. Several poster presentations looked at amongst others issues of cycling safety, the use of new technologies in cycling research, or the establishment of regional cycling route networks.

In addition to these two dedicated sessions, cycling was also addressed in several other technical sessions on urban mobility or road safety. The next step for the cycling community should be to bring it also to a prominent place in the plenaries, which were focusing a lot on automated and electric cars in Warsaw – a good goal for the next Transport Research Arena in Vienna 2018!