For the last twenty years, the Hungarian Cyclists’ Club has been working on promoting a modal shift to bicycles and guaranteeing safe cycling infrastructure. The I Bike Budapest Parade is one of the many campaigns the Club organises annually to promote biking in the capital city.

I Bike Budapest Parade 2022

This year’s participation in the I Bike Budapest Parade broke any previous record. With the collaboration of 300 volunteers and a total of more than 15,000 participants, the parade crossed the city along a route of 15 kilometers. The parade has clearly shown the opportunity for Budapest to be a bike-friendly city for everyone, welcoming cyclists of all ages.

Together, they made a strong political statement about the importance of cycling infrastructure and safety in the city, showing the huge public interest in cycling as a mode of daily transport and as a recreational activity.

What they cycled for: a car-free Chain Bridge

An important demand was made at this year's parade for a permanent ban on cars, and therefore on traffic, from the Chain Bridge. A historical and cultural landmark of the city, the Chain Bridge is also a key connection point known for its intense car traffic. Closed in the summer of 2021 for a restoration project, the Chain Bridge was re-opened in December 2022 exclusively to public transport, taxis, and cyclists. The new traffic regime was welcomed by many, but now, the Budapest municipality has decided to organise a public consultation on the future of mobility on the bridge this summer. The question is whether it should remain car-free or not. The massive participation in the I Bike Budapest parade clearly made a statement on this topic: more than 15,000 people cycled to keep the Chain Bridge free of cars and traffic and to ensure a safe and welcoming infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

Since February 2023 the civil coalition by the Hungarian Cyclists' Club and 20 NGOs has been working together and campaigning for citizens to vote for the car-free Chain Bridge. The voting started in May 2023, and on 20th June the results of the local unofficial referendum were announced: 79% supported the option to remove cars from the Chain Bridge permanently. The decision means that a new, very important connection will be available for cyclists between Buda and Pest, and a human-centered transformation of Budapest's city center can be continued! The Hungarian Cyclists' Club hopes that this will only be the beginning of the sustainable transformation of Budapest and Hungary, and this decision will give momentum to the whole movement in Hungary.

Hungarian Cyclists’ Club is an ECF Member organisation in Hungary. With the collaboration of more than 2,000 members and 18 regional organizations, it is the largest cycling organization in the country. To read more about Hungarian Cyclists’ Club, click here.