Cycling has been growing in the recent years in Germany. Today, about 30%of the German population uses the bicycle as a means of transportation including all age classes and rural as well as urban population. Cyclists use their bicycle on average on three days per week for about 30% of their trips. However, unlike the car which is almost universal, the bicycle is a mode that specializes on specific segments of everyday travel, particularly on short distances. Hence, cyclists exhibit a multimodal travel behavior, i.e. they combine the bicycle with other modes and switch to public transport or the car when the bicycle is not suitable. The domain of the bicycle as a means of transport is a radius around home that on average is about 3 to 5 km, dependent on the urban form. Within this radius, the car withits flexibility is the only serious competitor to non-motorized modes. For such neighborhood oriented travel of cyclists, public transport performswell only in specific niches, like travel at night or commuting to schoolor university. Here, public transport and the bicycle are competitors. Nevertheless, from a system perspective they are allies: Each provides important components for a multimodal mobility toolkit that enables travelers to cultivate a less automobile orientated mobility.
Abstract