A Story from The Netherlands: Why People Cycle Everywhere and What We Can Learn from Them?
By Amy Ikhayanti.
The Netherlands, a country of 18 million
people, is also a home of 22.5 million bikes [1].
This number doesn’t come as a surprise, considering that the Dutch cycle to
everywhere: to school, to grocery store, to another city for a meeting, or even
the short distance to the apartment’s communal garbage area. People also use
bikes to transport children and goods: from small packages, suitcases,
groceries bags, or even a TV. Once you’re used to be a two-wheeler, a bike can
become an irreplaceable mode of transport.
Photo
1: Cyclists in The Netherlands
Source: Bike Citizens
The story of cycling in The Netherlands
doesn’t stop there. An integrated public transport and bike system allows
commuters and travellers to carry their bikes to the trains, both on normal and
peak hours. It doesn’t come free, though. A day ticket for carrying your bike
into the train is €6.10[2].
However, you shouldn’t worry if you need a bike as part of your commute. A
folding bike is free of additional train charge, but you have to make sure that
you fold your bike properly once you’re inside the carriage. Or, if you are
reluctant to bring your own bike, you can rent OV-fiets[3]
from the train stations for only €3.85 per day[4].
When a cyclist arrives at the city centre, he or she doesn’t have to worry about finding a parking space, somewhere in the centre’s
underground parking garage. Many Dutch city centres provide a basement parking
for cars to meet the needs of car users, while maintaining car-free area on its
shopping streets and squares. A cyclist can always find a parking space right
in front of the shop, hop-off the bike and leave as soon as needed without
being bothered by parking tickets.
Going back home on a dark night, you don’t
have to worry about the traffic either. There are extensive bike paths all
around the city. Where there isn’t any, a cyclist should not worry about the
vehicle traffic because bikes get priorities over cars. Nevertheless, you
should remember to put on your front and back lights (helmet not mandatory).
Otherwise, you may get fined €55[5]
by the police!
Changing our setting to Melbourne - what can
we learn from The Netherlands to promote cycling as a transport mode?
Photo 2: Cyclists in Melbourne
Source: Sportsbet
Both Melbourne and The Netherlands have a
bike-friendly public transport system, along with its own bike share. Melbourne
also has an extensive bike path throughout the CBD. However, it is not enough
only to have a very good cycling infrastructure at one place. It is also
important to have a robust cycling network to the surrounding areas to
encourage movements to and from the CBD. It requires not only cooperation with
the surrounding Councils, but also a bigger strategy to manage the whole
structure, in the metropolitan area and also the whole state.
At the same time, it is also important to
promote the advantage of cycling over driving cars. The Netherlands applies a
higher tax for gasoline and parking tickets compared to Australia. At the same
time, they invest heavily in bicycle infrastructure, from bicycle garages next
to the stations to bike paths and bridges [6].
In other words, it’s necessary to create a conducive environment that
encourages people to cycle.
Nevertheless, it’s also important to
remember that Melbourne (Metropolitan Area) is much larger in size compared to
Dutch cities. Considering that many people commute to the CBD for work and
study, riding a bike as the only mode of transportation for residents of the
outer suburbs can be challenging. As such, a campaign to familiarise public
with the use of multi-modal transport system with public transport and bike is
crucial.
Looking back, Melbourne has possessed some
of the supportive attributes to encourage cycling as a mode of transport.
Knowing that, we are perhaps on the right track, anyway.
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