Our members are the foundation of ECF. They carry the message of cycling on the ground and they help nations move into an environmentally-friendly, competitive and sustainable future. ECF proudly presents a small selection of inspirational stories from the cycling community. We want to thank the men and the women behind these successes and acknowledge all the hard work, the drive and the commitment to a better world with more people cycling more often. You make all of this possible. Keep pedalling!

Advocacy on a national level - towards a cycling nation

The work of our members on a regional level keeps on translating to national policies, bringing cycling forward as a daily mode of transportation.

Germany: For the first time in history, the government has included cycle highways in the new Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. ADFC was working to include cycle highways in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan for years now and it finally pays off – it‘s a big step towards a better cycling future in Germany.

Italy: A new law was discussed at the Italian Parliament and through a strategic and intensive action of FIAB, the proposal now also includes a reduced speed limit of 30 km/h in urban areas. Traffic calming benefits not only cyclists but also has a big positive impact on the living conditions in urban areas. The national financial law also includes the planning and realization of three main national cycle ways - a three-year commitment for a total investment of 91 Million Euros. FIAB is a proud alumni of ECF's Leadership Program, working to make organisations strong national advocating for cycling. 

Norway: SLF - SYKLISTENES LANDSFORENING is bringing cycling to the national level. A new, ambitious National Transport Plan foresees a 50% reduction of emissions by 2030 and cycling, as a CO2 friendly mode of transport, can play an important role in achieving this ambitious goal. Therefore the Plan includes the funding and realization of 10 state-of-the-art cycle highways in and near Norway’s nine largest cities.

Finland: Great success for Finnish bicycle advocacy, backed up by the Leadership Programme: Finland’s new Energy and Climate Strategy includes an official national goal to increase the numbers of trips made by bicycle or foot to 30% by the year 2030. Thanks to the ECF members Finnish Cyclists’ Federation and Network of Finnish Cycling Municipalities Finland is now cycling towards a better climate change policy!

Best of cycling campaigns - shape your city

More and more cities are declaring dedicated funding for cycling to make cities more lively and prepare them for the future of transportation.

Spain: ConBici and A contramano are doing a great job improving cycling conditions all over Spain. In 2016 there were two big improvements for the city of Madrid and Seville; Seville gave priority to pedestrians and cyclists and the city center was declared as a 30km/h area creating the largest low-speed traffic area in Spain. Madrid pledged to invest heavily into cycling and create 30 km of cycle paths connecting key areas of the city.

The Netherlands: The country of cycling does not rest on its laurels. The city of Groening will spend 85 Million Euros on promoting cycling in the next 5 years for things like a new underground bike tunnel and 5,000 extra parking spaces for bicycles, as well as maintenance of the snow-free main cycling routes during rush hours and making more new “cycling streets". In the whole of the Netherlands, the government is investing 40 Million Euros in bicycle parking to cover a shortage of up to 100,000 spots by 2030. Between these investments and the upcoming Velo-city 2017 in Arnhem-Nijmegen, ECF's member the Fietsersbond is nothing but busy!

Romania: Thanks to Green Revolution Association, Bucharest now joins the 600 cities worldwide with a bike-sharing scheme. The bike sharing system will help to ease traffic jams in Bucharest and contribute to a better urban mobility and lays the groundwork for a better cycling infrastructure in the capital city.

Austria: For a successful advocacy campaign on a local level, it’s important to involve citizens and the cycling community to broaden your impact and make your voice heard. In Austria two innovative participation campaigns were held during the year: "Stimme fürs Rad" a campaign focused on the opinion of Viennese politicians towards cycling and the campaign "Goldene Speiche" awarded the best cycling infrastructure chosen by the cycling community. Radlobby also proved that you sometimes need to be bold and take some risks, Radlobby won a one-year court case for cyclists to keep a safety distance to parked cars.