Who isn’t familiar with the sight of Amsterdam in combination with lots, and lots of bikes? In Amsterdam we simply adore biking. It really is the fastest and easiest way to get from one place to another thought the city. As you get to know the city better and better, you will find out that it actually is just a rather big village instead of a real big metropolitan. But that’s what makes it so amazing, right? For many Amsterdam tourists biking is an attractive way to get around and explore the city, maybe it makes them feel a little bit more local. But, make sure to get well informed, it can get a bit chaotic out there.
Well, all of this got me thinking, why not share some funny facts and figures with you guys on bikes & Amsterdam. Sounds good? Well here we go.
Figures
So normally, I am not really into data, figures and numbers, but in this case they just offer a funny insight in Amsterdam biking culture. Perhaps unsurprisingly, but there are more (estimates) bikes in Amsterdam that permanent residents. Amsterdam has 834,713 inhabitants and is estimated to have 881,000 bikes! Around 58% of all Amsterdam bikers, bike on a daily basis. Snow or no snow, rain or no rain. All bike lanes in Amsterdam together have a total length of 400 kilometers. Did you know that around 12,000 to 15,000 bicycles are pulled out of the canals on a yearly basis? Also almost 100,000 bikes get stolen in a year. Combined, all Amsterdammers bike about two million kilometers a day.
Pictures by Commons/ Pierre Durocher.
Infrastructure
In becoming one of the most bike-friendly cities of the world a good infrastructure and regulation is a definite must. The city centre of Amsterdam is full of narrow streets, one-way streets, humpy canal side roads and many, many bridges. Making it nearly impossible to get anywhere by car within a reasonable time limit. This is the reason biking is often preferred to cars. There is a continuous network of cycle paths,including clear signage and streetlights.
Bike-friendly City
As you all might know Amsterdam is one of the most bike-friendly city in the world. Actually it wás the most friendly until 2015, when Copenhagen took it’s place in the world ranking. The Copenhagenize ‘Bicycle Friendly Cities Index’ does a biannual inventory of the most bike-friendly cities around the world. They set fourteen parameters, including bike culture, infrastructure, perception of safety and urban planning. For each of the fourteen parameters a city can get unto 4 points, also an extra 12-point bonus can be earned in case of particularly impressive efforts.
Sincerely,
Mr. J
Bike City (Bike rental)
Bloemgracht 68-70
1015 TL Amsterdam
Open every day from 9 am till 5.30 pm.
€€•••