autoevolution
 

Top 10 Bike-Friendly Cities Index Revealed for 2022, Europe Tops the Charts

Have you ever tried cycling to work? In case you found it extremely difficult, there may be an explanation, and it may not be linked to your willpower. As some of you may be aware, some cities are more bike-friendly than others. In case yours is not on the top ten list, you might have an excuse.
Our colleague Cristian Curmei riding the 3D Printed Urwahn Platzhirsch E-Bike 7 photos
Photo: Florin Profir for autoevolution.com
Feet on the pedals at all timesNo umbrella while on the bikeRide the bike across the streetToo many occupantsHandsfree biking is illegalusing your phone while riding is also illegal
As you can imagine, some cities will be better for cycling than others, and it will be easier to pedal to work or wherever you need to go in some places rather than in others. Instead of just counting or estimating how many cyclists there are in a city, the Global Bicycle Cities Index took six main parameters into account.

The study focused on 90 cities around the world and looked at bike-sharing opportunities, infrastructure, the percentage of bicycle users, weather conditions, crime statistics, and safety.

Dedicated events, such as “no car days,” added points to the cities that had them, but having high theft rates or more frequent accidents made cities lose points. The latter two were part of the safety and crime statistics, so they have been accounted for.

From that point, all the 90 cities in the study were ranked on a 100-point scale, and the one with the most points was the most bike-friendly. Europe topped the chart with nine out of 10 cities, and no city in the United States of America was ranked in the top 10 or top 20, for that matter.

To be fair, some European cities had the advantage of the climate, along with flatter terrain that makes it easier for people to cycle, while others just have quality bike paths that make up for some inconveniences.

Contrary to what the stereotypes may let you guess, Amsterdam is not in the first place, but in fifth with 60.24 points, as the town has over 1,000 accidents per 100,000 cyclists.

When compared to Copenhagen, that is almost five times more accidents involving cyclists. Mind you, numerous bicycles are stolen in Amsterdam each day, so be sure to put a lock on yours whenever it is left unattended.

Without further ado, the most bike-friendly city in the world, according to the Global Bicycle Cities Index of 2022, is Utrecht, in The Netherlands, with a score of 77.84 points out of 100 possible. More than half of the town's population uses a bicycle in everyday life, which is impressive.

Second place was Germany's Munster, followed by Antwerp, in Belgium. Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, obtained a fourth place, while Malmö got sixth.

Hangzhou is the only city outside of Europe to get in the top ten, with 52.55 points and seventh place, thanks to 30 percent of its population using a bicycle in everyday life, as well as having an extensive offer of bike-sharing services.

Bern of Switzerland gets an eighth place, followed by Bremen and Hanover. The best-ranked American city is San Francisco, which came in 39th place, one spot ahead of Australia's Sydney.

As a reference, Los Angeles was 57th on the list, and New York was 67 on the charts. Detroit came in 72nd position, which is unsurprising for a place referred to as Motor City.

Canada's best-placed city was Montreal, in 16th place, while the UK's most bike-friendly city was Bristol, just three spots ahead of Austria's Innsbruck. We expect France to get a better place in a couple of years.

The least friendly bike city in the world, at least among those studied, was Lagos in Nigeria, followed by Medellín, Colombia, and Bangkok, Thailand. It would also be difficult to cycle to Moscow, Jakarta, or Hong Kong.

With that being written, please wear a helmet when cycling.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)

Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows people cycling.

About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories