How do we make cycling even more inclusive?

Today, cycling policies in Flanders are mainly aimed at encouraging cycling and increasing the number of trips by bicycle. Policymakers start from a general image of 'the cyclist', who is encouraged to cycle more often. With success, because the number of bicycle trips is increasing.

Yet the question arises whether this increase in absolute numbers also means that people who do not cycle today, or do not cycle often, will suddenly do so or more often. Indeed, there is a risk that current cycling policies mainly reach people who cycle frequently anyway, but do not address the needs of population groups that are underrepresented in cycling statistics. In other words: more bicycle trips, but therefore not more diversity in the group of cyclists.

To help local and regional policymakers, we zoom in on the differences between population groups in terms of bicycle ownership, bicycle frequency and bicycle use in an our report. And we do so using data for the 13 Flemish central cities. Their relatively diverse population and their pioneering role in terms of mobility and cycling policy make them interesting cases.

The report takes all kinds of factors into account: from gender, age, level of education, income and origin to the nature of bicycle travel. What emerges? Not all population groups in Flanders cycle equally frequently. Not all population groups cycle for the same purposes. And there are big differences between the 13 central cities.

An increasing number of cycling trips may mask growing inequality, with certain population groups not enjoying the many benefits that cycling offers. As a sustainable, accessible and relatively cheap mode of transport, cycling has great potential to reduce transport poverty. Of course, this potential can only be realised if cycling itself becomes an inclusive activity, where everyone can participate.

This in turn calls for a cycling policy that looks beyond the modal split. A policy also that consciously takes into account the diversity and heterogeneity of Flemish cyclists, and the needs of population groups that are underrepresented in cycling statistics in particular.

The insights in the report form a starting point for policymakers to diversify their image of cyclists in Flanders, and to adapt their mobility visions, policy plans and communication campaigns to this diverse reality. Only then can they encourage cycling in a very targeted way among population groups that are currently still underrepresented in cycling statistics.