At the Parliamentary Evening of the German “Fahrradakademie” Austria’s CycleCompetence was the protagonist on the topic “cycling in rural areas”. At the Austrian Embassy in Berlin experts and MPs from the German Bundestag gathered to hear presentations and panel discussions. Delegates of CycleCompetence members included Johannes Rauch, councillor in the province of Vorarlberg,  Andrea Weninger, managing director at Rosinak & Partner, as well as federal cycling coordinator Martin Eder. (more…)

Especially in every-day cycling potholes and other damages to the road surface are a nuisance as they have to be avoided daily. For the road maintenance administration it is important to efficiently deal with reports about such damages. CycleCompetence member PRISMA solutions has found an intelligent solution to link the regional database for the German province of Hessen with the international reporting platform RADar!

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With the up-to-date review of the road code the German federal traffic minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) wants to strengthen cycling traffic to make cycling more attractive and safer. The self-proclaimed “cycling minister” surprises with ambitious measures in his proposal: Among those are a minimum distance for overtaking cyclists, creating cycling zones and rules on when not to overtake cyclists.

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Bicycle streets and cycling highways are traffic design elements generally viewed as important means to increase attractiveness of cycling traffic. Since the legal implementation of cycling streets in 2013, Austria has already seen a few of these being introduced with the provinces of Vienna and Vorarlberg as pioneers. Now, the city of Vienna has presented its “Masterplan Cycling Streets” developed by CycleCompetence member  komobile. (more…)

The long-demanded legal equalization of e-bikes and electronic cars as company vehicles had been hinted at in spring. Now that there has been a government re-shuffle the tax reform seems to have been pushed way back again. The timing is quite unfortunate as the sale of e-bikes has reached a record high in Austria. The cycling coordinator for the city of Vienna, Martin Blum, is therefore among those demanding to take the “company bicycle” out of the tax reform. Instead a new legal framework should be passed by parliament as a separate motion as soon as possible. (more…)

Dublin is hosting this year’s Velo-city conference and with it over 1,000 experts and activists helping cycle traffic to achieve the significance and attention it deserves. From 25 to 29 June the summit of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) will offer a diversified expert programme. Cycle Competence Austria is contributing to that. Yesterday it was officially announced that the next Velo-city Conference 2020 will be close to Austria in Ljubljana, as Mexico City has withdrawn its place.
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The regions Hall in Tyrol and Lauterach in Vorarlberg are using Cycle Competence to show the potential every-day cycling can have to reduce traffic in rural areas: Cycling streets (Fahrradstraßen), cycle traffic networks and filling gaps are prioritised in comprehensive regional concepts. (more…)

After the high-profile „Volksentscheid Fahrrad” and the resulting law on mobility passed in Berlin a year ago, it is now time for implementation. In our exclusive interview with Wigand von Sassen, group leader cycle traffic at the Berliner Senatsverwaltung (the local government) and with other updates we are showing how far Berlin has gotten in realising the plans and which steps are still ahead of the German capital. (more…)

The role of tourism as an economic factor is to be strengthened further in Austria. Of course the bicycle is part of this strategy as it is one of the most important leisure sports devices. This has now been noted by the federal ministry for sustainability and tourism (BMNT) in its so-called “Plan T – Masterplan for Tourism”. In it, an additional 800.000 Euros is earmarked for “digitalisation and cycling campaigns”.
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On 2 April 2019 the Cycle Competence Austria platform, together with the urban mobility lab Salzburg, organised its first training masterclass. Under the heading “This is what cycle traffic should look like!” representatives of municipalities as well as cycling coordinators were invited to the event which was part of the pre-programme of the “Networkmeeting Cycle Traffic” by the province of Salzburg. This first “Cycle Competence Masterclass” was focusing on core topics of traffic planning and received very positive feedback. (more…)

The Austrian climate strategy includes a doubling of cycle traffic share. For environmental minister Köstinger (BMNT) mobility is one of the priorities in aiming to cut seven million tons of CO2 by 2030. A recommended 30-euro per capita cycling budget would mean in the decade between 2020 and 2030 a total of €3bn is available for necessary improvements. Cycle Competence Austria is the first to analyse how this money should be invested wisely. Here are the results. (more…)

At the beginning of September, the Austrian parliament was presented with a long-awaited draft of the 30^th amendment to the domestic road code, the “Straßenverkehrsordnung” (StVO). In it, the Ministry for Transport has both embedded improvements for cycle traffic, which have been negotiated for years now, as well as the pilot scheme “Turning right on red”. One of the highlights is the planned end for the dreaded “Ende” road markings signalling cyclists they have to yield their right of way.
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Already for the 19^th time this year, Europe’s largest campaign for soft mobility, the European Mobility Week, is taking place. From 16 to 22 September the multi-modal advantages of cycling, the use of public transport and walking are to be emphasised under the heading “Mix and Move”. One of the highlights: The special folding bike promotion in the province of Vorarlberg.

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Research project LARA Share goes into the trial phase! It aims to increase the integration of cargo bikes into commercial and private goods transport. Companies and private individuals are to be motivated to do without cars for short, inner-city routes with small amounts of goods to transport. The sharing platform for cargo bikes developed by a project team including Cycle Competence member FGM will now be put to the real-life test.

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Growing efforts to promote climate-friendly mobility chains also increase the importance of parking facilities at hubs and railway stations. To help achieve this, Cycle Competence member RADLand Niederösterreich (province of Lower Austria) has announced a million euro investment programme. At the same time, a pilot project is implemented in cooperation with Cycle Competence member Innovametall. (more…)

From 24 to 26 September the European Cycling Summit will take place in Salzburg under the heading “Cycling culture moves”. The three-day event is to set a new impulse for establishing a comprehensive cycling culture in cities and municipalities with the help of international experts. Cycle Competence Austria is inviting you to join us for a themed breakfast at our Cycle Competence Lounge. We look forward to seeing you there! (more…)

For many countries neighbouring Austria, Vienna has a model character for the step-by-step improvement of cycle traffic. A Serbian film team has therefore come to Vienna: The every-day routes in Belgrade are getting longer, every year there is 3% more motorized traffic in the streets compared to the previous year. Every new parking space that is built brings more cars, more traffic, more chaos. Therefore strategic traffic planning is needed. What can this look like?
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Currently the European Union is promoting three cargo bike projects running from 2018 to 2021. The three projects of the promotion programs Horizon 2020 and INTERREG cover very different topics such as rolling city furniture, mobility concepts and product development of fuel cells. Meanwhile “KlimaEntLaster” are rolling through the Lower Austrian Mostviertel.
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On 24 May the European Commission published its proposal for stricter EU regulations regarding motor vehicles (Motor Insurance Directive – MID). The aims are to “to better protect victims of motor vehicle accidents and improve the rights of insurance policyholders”. There is, however, one point that snuck itself into this proposal: A liability insurance for pedelec users. (more…)

With the cycling strategy decided on in 2017, the city of Salzburg has set ambitious targets. By 2025 the share of cycling traffic is to increase from currently 20% to at least 24%. With parallel measures in car traffic the cycling share could get up to as high as 28%. A central area for the measures set down in the cycling strategy is the creation of new cycling paths. These will ensure a safe and comfortable cycling infrastructure is available to cyclists throughout the whole city area.
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The positive effects of active mobility on society can also be measured financially: More and more studies confirm the positive health aspects of active mobility – even in cities. But especially when cycling it is important that the conditions are right. Why cycling as a means of transport is a real motor for health is the topic of an article we compiled for a special health edition of the “zoll+” magazine.
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The significance of the bicycle as a means for daily travel as well as cycle tourism are strongly increasing. A joint study by CycleCompetence member Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the MODUL University Vienna commissioned by the Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT) analyzed international bike rental systems. (more…)

In 2017, the Luxembourg traffic ministry commissioned a best-practice study in 2017 to analyse the legal situation of cyclists in six European countries. The focus was on regulation regarding traffic organisation and infrastructure. The Viennese traffic planning office komobile was also part of the study. The result is a comprehensive reform of the legal framework concerning cyclists, which was implemented surprisingly quickly. It includes passing clearance and turning right on red! (more…)

Bicycle and pedestrian traffic as the two pillars of active mobility need sufficient space. Pedestrian zones are often rendered as crucial bottlenecks leading either to a friendly coexistence or conflicts. The fact that opening pedestrian zones for cycle traffic can work was demonstrated by the German research project “Taking the bicycle to go shopping downtown – conflicts and potentials of opening a pedestrian zone for cyclists”. (more…)

Those who know the Lauteracher Ried are aware of its singularities: It is one of the last habitats in Vorarlberg to house characteristic ground-nesting bird species like the Western Curlew, the Corn Crake or the Plover. At the same time the Lauteracher Ried is an important recreation area as well as a production area for agriculture operating under strict nature protection regulations.
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Not only do transport bicycles remain a trend topic, their importance is also continuously growing. Their increased use as a climate-friendly alternative to a motorised car is given new impetus by two projects with CycleCompetence background: “CityChangerCargoBike” and “KlimaEntLaster” (a word play on the German word for easing a burden “entlasten” and for truck “Laster”). In September the Horizon 2020 “CityChangerCargoBike” project will start and run until August 2020. (more…)

Healthy, good for the environment and stress free! With a company bicycle model (“Job-Rad”) employers can support their employees to increasingly switch to a healthy and environmentally-friendly mode of transport both for commutes as well as private travel. The CycleCompetence members klimaaktiv mobil (BMNT) und Herry Consult are publishing helpful tips on the subject and an expert opinion on the question of private use (“Sachbezug”).

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Instead of parking it in a traffic jam inhabitants of a residential estate in the Heindlstraße in Linz could in future just leave their cars in the garage. They are now being offered a mobility alternative in the form of easily accessible rental bicycles and safe bicycle boxes. (more…)