Cycling is emerging as one of the most disruptive transport technologies in the rich world. It is highly energy-efficient, costs almost nothing, reduces congestion and pollution, and obviates the need for huge car parks.
Bicycles mostly died out as a form of transport in the mid-20th century not only because cars were faster and cushier, but because cars made cycling catastrophically dangerous. In 1950 some 805 cyclists were killed on Britain's roads—ten times the number killed in recent years. The invention of the separated bike lane has reversed the decline. Bike lanes create cyclists because they largely eliminate the risk of being crushed by careless or aggressive drivers, and are far cheaper to build than new subways.
Copenhagen leads the world: bikes account for almost half of commuter journeys to work and school. In London cyclists outnumber cars in the City, the financial district, by two to one. In France, Parisian cyclists now outnumber motorists across the whole city. Montreal is Canada's and North America's leading cycling city; in the Plateau neighbourhood, bicycles account for a fifth of all journeys. Use of Montreal's bike-share scheme, Bixi, doubled between 2019 and 2024, to 13m trips a year. More than a third of the city's population cycles at least once a week.
E-bikes have accelerated cycling's growth by giving riders a pedal assist, opening the activity to those who cannot comfortably ride a traditional bike. Workers can arrive at meetings without breaking a sweat. E-bikes are especially useful for transporting children and groceries. In most American cities, only bikes with pedals and a maximum speed of 20mph (32kph) are allowed in bike lanes; in Europe the equivalent limit is 25kph. Because e-bikes are heavier and faster, and are often ridden by novices, accidents can be worse than on traditional bikes. In the Netherlands deaths of cyclists hit a record high in 2022, with e-bike riders facing sharply higher death rates than riders of normal bikes.
In the developing world, electric rickshaws are rapidly replacing petrol-powered ones in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and electric-motorbike taxis are growing in many east African cities.
Cycling has become a culture war. Rob Ford, then the mayor of Toronto, popularised the phrase "the war on cars" more than a decade ago, promising to cut funding for light rail and remove bike lanes. The battle cry has been taken up by populist and right-leaning politicians elsewhere. In Berlin in 2023, Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union came to power in the city and immediately suspended new bike lanes planned by its more left-wing predecessors. In America, Donald Trump's Department of Transportation ordered a review of all federal funding for projects like bike lanes intended to reduce fossil-fuel use. Car ownership and use is increasingly a dividing line in European and American politics.
It may or may not be worthwhile, but it still has to be done.