Germany hoping e-bikes will help drive expansion of cycling highways

Urban planners in Germany are hopeful that the country will see more of the cycling highways that are currently being developed in many areas and point to e-bikes as being a possible driving force behind this growth.

Last November, an 11km stretch of cycle highway was opened in the Ruhr Valley. Four metres wide and exclusively for cyclists, it is hoped that RS1 will eventually be a 100-kilometre route linking Hamm to Duisburg.

Yale Environment 360 reports the transport minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Michael Groschek, as saying: "We will introduce cycling highways as an official new type of infrastructure in our state’s laws."

Munich and Berlin are also reported to be planning cycling highways of a similar nature.

According to Martin Tönnes, chief planner of the Ruhr Cycling Highway, it is now possible to cycle the 11 kilometres between Mülheim and Essen in 31 minutes at “standard speed” while you would need 23 minutes to make the same trip by car – plus time to find a parking space.

The aim now is to attract commuters to the new infrastructure. With around 1.8 million people living within two-kilometres of the route, Tönnes believes there is "huge potential for heavy use" and points to the popularity of e-bikes in Germany as being another reason for this. Around two million Germans are said to own one and their popularity is growing.

In Berlin, it is Thomas Heilmann, the city’s justice minister and deputy regional leader of the CDU, who is driving the cycling highway scheme there. "The number of people using bicycles is steadily on the rise, and I see it as our responsibility to create a suitable infrastructure," he said.

Heilmann also sees e-bikes as being a key aspect. His plans involve charging stations being built along the highway, together with kiosks catering to those on conventional bikes. These would feature free air pumps, spare parts and refreshments and the installation of showers has also been suggested.