Vitoria-Gasteiz has been crowned Spain’s new cycling capital thanks to new figures showing that cycling trips have doubled in three years.
Cycling now jumps ahead of public transport as the city’s third most popular form of travel, with 12.3 per cent of trips now taking place on bicycles – the highest share of any Spanish city.
The figures, which were reported in the Basque city’s recent mobility survey, show that residents made 111 478 trips on their bicycles in 2014, up from 56 400 in 2011.
MEP Michael Cramer, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, congratulated the city for its achievements.
‘Vitoria-Gasteiz shows that political commitment at the top, a dedicated administration and a participative approach can quickly and considerably increase the share of cyclists also in cities outside the established European cycling nations.’
Vitoria-Gasteiz, the 2012 European Green Capital, is a founding member of the European Biking Cities(link is external) network, which promotes active cycling policies in European cities.
The mobility survey also showed that about 69 per cent of homes now own a bicycle, up from 53 per cent in 2006.
