Before we dive into the year 2020, let’s take a moment to look back at 2019. Climate Change, the European Elections, and road safety certainly dominated this year’s headlines and political discussions. ECF made sure to catch onto this momentum and push cycling further up the policy agendas.  

Towards Vision Zero

By the end of September, the yearly count of fatal road accidents reached 1,000,000 victims worldwide. Europe alone accounted for 25,000 casualties, most of which included pedestrians, cyclists and children playing on the streets. This is not an unchangeable truth and ECF’s lobby work has contributed to major breakthroughs in this area, which are expected to prevent thousands of road deaths in the forthcoming years. 

Mandatory vehicle regulations pave the way for great leap in cycling safety:In March this year, EU Institutions agreed on the revision of the General Safety Regulation that will make vehicle safety measures such as Intelligent Speed Assistance and Autonomous Emergency Braking mandatory from 2022 onwards. It is expected that these steps will directly improve road safety by saving over 25,000 lives and preventing 140,000 serious injuries by 2038.

The new RISM directive will save cyclists' lives. More good news followed later that year. After 2 years of active lobbying, the revised Directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management (RISM) was finally published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The directive will oblige member states to take cyclists needs into account in major road investments. The proposed measures could save as many as 3,200 lives and prevent more than 20,000 serious injuries.

Although much work remains to be done, 2019 laid the ground work in striving for zero road fatalities and serious injuries by 2050, also known as “Vision Zero“.

Cycling looks to the European Parliament

ECF’s European Election campaign paved the way for more advocacy successes in the next parliamentary term and secured the support of cycling champions in the Parliament.

Huge cross-party support for cycling among future members of the European Parliament. With the support of our members, ECF started its campaign back in March. We reached out to MEP candidates and asked them to complete a survey on the most pressing issues for European Cyclists. Candidates were also asked to sign the Cycling for All pledge, signing up to be champions for cycling in the next parliament. The results showed strong cross-party support for cycling with 469 candidates completing the survey and 404 committing themselves to supporting the cause of cycling by signing the pledge.

Strong support for cycling among elected representatives in new EU Parliament. 75 newly elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), or a full 10% of the entire house, signed the Cycling for All pledge. With strong support from MEPs of different political groups and countries, it becomes clear that cycling is a truly cross-partisan and transnational issue.

Unlocking the Potential for Europe

Did you know that cycling saves more than 16 million tons of CO2 emissions per year? This year, ECF proudly presented the updates of “The Benefits of Cycling: Unlocking Their Potential for Europe” report. The report includes everything you need to know about the far-reaching benefits of riding a bike. We quantified these benefits and concluded that cycling contributes at least 150 Billion Euros to the European Economy per year.

Investing EU funds into active mobility – 7 takeaways from a high-level ECF event. EU investment in active mobility are on the rise. Currently, they stand at 2 Billion. The Romanian EU Presidency, the Interreg CHIPS project and ECF jointly held a high-level meeting on the 3^rd of April to raise awareness for the funding aspect.

Cycling is overlooked in Member States’ Draft National Energy and Climate Plans. As part of the EU’s Energy and Climate Policies 2030, Member States were required to develop national Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). ECF’s analysis of the 28 draft NECPs draws the conclusion that cycling is not in line with its enormous potential to slash carbon emissions in the transport sector.

European Parliament officially takes its position to exclude pedelecs from mandatory motor insurance. The European Parliament IMCO committee, led by MEP Charanzová, agreed with ECF to exclude pedelecs from the Motor Insurance Directive.

Park it. Sustainable Parking Policies in Europe

Parking is a major determinant of people’s mobility choices. This is true for bicycles, cars and all other private transport modes. Simply speaking, access to parking spaces for a specific mode of transport will influence people’s mobility choices.

ECF ranks France on top with most sustainable parking policy in Europe. This year ECF published a parking report, the very first of its kind, which systematically collects, compares and ranks parking codes across Europe. The report highlights France as the only country with a maximum norm for car parking.

Member States Recommended to Provide Bicycle Infrastructure in New and Renovated Buildings. In June 2019, The European Commission published the 2^nd part of its Guidance Note concerning the implementation of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) Directive. ECF is pleased to see that it recommends Member States to include provisions for bicycles, e-bikes and cargo bikes!

New year, New adventure

The end of the year is not only a time to reflect on what we have accomplished, but to envision what the future holds in store for cycling. Things are not likely to slow down in 2020.

For example, ECF and its members are already preparing a campaign for the upcoming final decisions on EU Rail Passengers’ Rights as well as the Motor Insurance Directive to ensure the best possible outcome for cyclists.