Budapest Bicycling: Which Way Forward?

1. Budapest Bicycling:Which Way Forward? Greg Spencer, REC gspencer@rec.org ELTIS Training Session April 14-15, 2008 Szentendre

2. Background of Cycling in Hungary Utilitarian Cycling in Budapest Today Critical Mass in Budapest Why Paris is a Good Example for Budapest Conclusion Points in this Presentation www.eltis.org

3. Bicycle widely used in Hungary during planned economy (and elsewhere in Socialist bloc) because it was inexpensive but … lingering stigma today of bike of ‘proletarian’ transport Background www.eltis.org

4. Skyrocketing car traffic -- 30.4% increase in Budapest 1990-2001 Background continued www.eltis.org

5. Influence of car lobby in Budapest politics 2005 proposal for city-wide parking fees struck down by media, angry motorists Slager Radio talk-show host Gabor Bochkor, Sept. 2005. “You know what I’d do with a bicyclist? Lock him in a garage and start the motor of my car.” Background continued Rakoczi ut • City Hall breaks promise of bike lanes on Rakoczi ut because there’s ‘no room’ www.eltis.org

6. State of play in Budapest: Cycling Levels • 1-2% modal share, on par with Prague, Warsaw • Less cycling during weekdays than weekends www.eltis.org

7. State of play in Budapest: Infrastructure www.eltis.org

8. First path (10 km Budapest-Szentendre) built in 1987 for recreational purposes Currently, 140-150 km of cycling paths, but 2/3 just painted lineson sidewalks State of play in Budapest: Infrastructure www.eltis.org

9. Paths mainly on one side of street only No coherentnetwork (~500 km needed to cover full city) Paths lead to nowhere State of play in Budapest: Infrastructure www.eltis.org

10. Late 1990-2001: EUR 400,000/year -- less than 1/10th of 1% of city budget -- for construction of ~10km paths/year 2002: Spending frozen New policy: Bicycle projects can only be carried out if piggybacked onto larger road building projects State of play in Budapest: City Spending www.eltis.org

11. Critical Mass: Maybe largest in World www.eltis.org

12. Twice annual ride with police escort (Car-Free Day in Fall, Earth Day in Spring) Attendance climbing steadily Fall 2004: 4,500 Spring 2005: 10,000 Fall 2006: 20,000 Spring 2006: 32,000 Fall 2006: Called off due to unrelated street riots Spring 2007: 50,000 Critical Mass continued www.eltis.org

13. Mayor Gabor Demszky’s response day after Earth Day 2005 Critical Mass: Critical Mass continued ‘It’s not worth spending a more serious amount on bike paths, because 140 km of paths have already been built and just a few people use them.’ www.eltis.org

14. The Parisianexample • Despite hosting the Tour de France and having invented the velocipede, the French, at least in Paris, don’t have a tradition of using bicycles as transport • Until recent years, Paris had almost no urban cyclists www.eltis.org

15. In 1995, Paris Mayor Jean Tibéri began promoting bicycling as a way to give his new administration personality. That winter, a month-long transport strike made bicycles one of the only ways to travel in Paris. The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

16. The Parisian example continued • Bicycling as transport has been a priority for two consecutive mayoral administrations • Mayor Delanoë openly confronts car problem:“I will fight, with all the means at my disposal, against the harmful, ever-increasing and unacceptable hegemony of the automobile.” Mayor Betrand Delanoë www.eltis.org

17. From 1995 to 2004, the city built 290.7 km cycling lanes, half of which are separated from both foot and vehicle traffic The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

18. Mayor’s Office spent EUR 4 million/year on cycling, including infrastructure building and maintenance and other promotional measures (2005 data) The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

19. Other bike-friendly measures ‘Paris Breathes’ event, which closes streets to motor traffic in several areas during weekends ‘The Plage’, in which the banks of the Seine are reserved for pedestrians, skaters and cyclists during summer Below-30 km/hr zones, where motor traffic is slowed and through traffic restricted Real estate developers required to provide certain amount of ‘two-wheeler’ parking accommodation The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

20. Examples of street-side ‘two-wheeler’ parking facilities The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

21. Other bike-friendly measures Bicycle promotions on city website and in print media Velib – bike rental scheme introduced in 2007, with plans for ~1,500 stations and 20,000+ bicycles The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

22. Results: 58% increase in bike traffic from 1997-2004 The Parisian example continued www.eltis.org

23. Modal share near 2%, with hopes of doubling this with full roll-out of Velib The Parisian Example continued www.eltis.org

24. Bike use will increase if there’s demand and city makes right investments In tight urban spaces, can’t build proper cycling infrastructure without taking space from cars Conclusions www.eltis.org

25. Thank you for your attention! Greg Spencer e-mail: gspencer@rec.org web: www.rec.org tel.: (36-26) 504-000; ext.208 www.eltis.org