March 20, 2022 - A new study including 17 countries across six continents shows that countries that cater to the needs of women cyclists always coincide with the highest level of cycling overall and good representations of all age groups.
In the Netherlands 56% of Dutch cyclists are women, and in Denmark 55% are women while in Germany 50% of all riders are women. Yet in the UK less than a third of all cyclists are women while the U.S. has among the lowest share of female-identified riders on the planet.
Experts agree that transport systems are generally designed for speed and favour men. Yet the right infrastructure, in particular protected and safer cycle space could change this, as most people want to cycle away from motor traffic, in their own space, and at their own leisure.
More cycling lanes that physically separate riders from driving spaces would enable a broader spectrum of the population to cycle. Yet despite the known and well-documented benefits, cycling rates have typically remained low in anglophone Western countries.
Read more in the Transport Review study here; in StreetsblogUSA here; in The Conversation here.
