New Eurobarometer published: 8 % of EU adult population uses bicycle as preferred transport mode

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10 Dec, 2014

Photo credit: Alain Bachellier - Flickr

“On a typical day, which mode of transport do you use most often?” 8 % of the some 27.000 people in the 28 EU Member States answered ‘bicycle’ when being asked this question. The result of this survey was published on December 8, 2014 in the Eurobarometer 422a.

The top 5 countries where people cycle most are the Netherlands (36 %) followed by Denmark (23 %), Hungary (22 %), Sweden (17%) and Finland (14 %). At the bottom rank Malta (0 %), Cyprus (1 %), Greece and Ireland (2 %). Among the 6 big EU Member States, only Germany (12 %) scores better than the EU average; Poland (7 %) and Italy (6 %) are slightly below average, France (4 %), Spain and UK (each 3 %) lag far behind.

The Eurobarometer reveals a number of other noteworthy results:

Gender split: For the EU as a whole, bicycle use is evenly split over female and male (both 8 %).
Age: The youngest population group interviewed (15 – 24) cycles the most (13%). In the age groups 25 – 39 and 40 – 54, 7% of the interviewed ticked the ‘bicycle’ box. 55+: 8 %.
Subjective urbanization: Most cycling occurs in small/mid-size towns (9 %); large towns are average (8 %); in rural areas, 7 % of the respondents chose the ‘bicycle’.

Reasons for choosing a specific mode of transport

“What are the reasons for using this mode of transport?” was another question people were asked. Respondents could choose among a maximum of 2 answers.

	All Users	Only ‘bicycle’ users
Convenience	61 %	49 %
Speed	31 %	27 %
Available facilities	16 %	18 %
The price	12 %	24 %
There is no alternative	8 %	5 %
Security	5 %	3 %
Environmental reasons	4 %	22 %
Other (spontaneous)	9 %	11 %
Don’t know	0 %	0 %

A third relevant question inquired: “Which of the following do you think are the most serious problems affecting roads in your country?” Respondents could choose among a maximum of 3 answers.

	All Users	Only ‘bicycle’ users
Road congestion	60 %	62 %
Road maintenance	59 %	51 %
Security	30 %	25 %
The amount of freight being transported by road	27 %	30 %
Air pollution	20 %	30 %
Noise pollution	10 %	17 %
Missing road links (between cities or across borders)	7 %	5 %

Last but not least, this question was posed: “Which of the following to you think should be the priorities for improving safety on roads in your country?” Respondents could choose among a maximum of 3 answers.

	All Users	Only ‘bicycle’ users
Improved road maintenance	56 %	49 %
Zero alcohol tolerance	49 %	51 %
Stricter speed limits	27 %	29 %
Stricter control on the use of electronic devices while driving	27 %	32 %
Frequent police controls	25 %	27 %
More training for drivers	21 %	19 %
Easy and timely access to traffic information when travelling	15 %	12 %
Other (spontaneous)	3 %	4 %
None (spontaneous)	1 %	1 %
Don’t know	2 %	2 %

This Eurobarometer was only a latest in a series of EU surveys (e.g. Eurobarometer 312 and 406) inquiring about transport behavior of EU adult citizen. ECF will analyse the trends in further detail.

About the Author

Fabian Küster is a Senior Policy Officer at the European Cyclists’ Federation. He has previously worked in Brussels for a German Member of European Parliament and the German Embassy. He has wealth of experience in and around the EU institutions, and is an expert in the EU policy field of bicycles.