Cycling mecca Netherlands is embracing electric bikes

Maastricht, the Netherlands; Sept. 30, 2020. Bikes passing the Meuse river quay in the city of Maastricht. Image: middelveld/IStock.com via AFP Relaxnews

Bicycles are an institution in the Netherlands. The country actually counts more bikes than inhabitants. And now, like elsewhere in Europe, people there are increasingly adopting e-bikes, whose sales are higher than those of classical bicycles, according to recent figures from the Dutch government mobility institute (KiM).

There are more bikes in the Netherlands (about 22.9 million) than its total population (17.2 million). With a ratio of 1.3 bikes per inhabitant, it is the world champion when it comes to cycling. Its popularity in the country is related to the lifestyle of the Dutch and the fact that they associate biking with well-being (its virtues in terms of health benefits and stress reduction have been cited many times).

In 2019, the Dutch traveled a total of 17.6 billion kilometers by bicycle, which translates to 3 kilometers a day per person. They used bikes for 28% of their trips, favoring this mode of transport over walking and public transportation. It is worth noting that this figure climbs to 48% of trips made by people under 18. Moreover, biking is more widespread in cities (over 40% of travels for people in Utrecht and Amsterdam) than in the countryside. While the use of cars prevails for relatively long trips, biking remains the first choice for trips under 5 kilometers.

In the past few years, the Dutch have started using more electric bikes. In 2019, this means of transportation represented 18% of total trips and 26% of the number of kilometers traveled by bike in the country. While trips in “traditional” bikes amount to 3.6 kilometers in average, the journeys made on electric bikes average 5.9 kilometers. And for people over 75 who own an e-bike, the average journey made this way averages 7.2 kilometers!

E-bike sales figures show how popular they’re becoming. In the category of adult bicycles, there were more e-bikes sold than traditional bikes last year. In 2019, 420,000 electric bikes were sold in the country, representing 40% of total new bike sales. JB

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