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…)

WOOM, VELLO and KTM already presented exciting new developments for the 2018 season. The best stage for this was of course the annual Eurobike in Friedrichshafen as it is the largest commercial cycle fair in Europe. Not only do the products and prototypes presented there offer a lot of IQ in development but also a lot of E in their application. Electronic support is an omnipresent topic in the cycling industry. In all of this the first self-charging e-folding bike VELLO+ stands out. (more…)