It is not just pensioners who are using electric bikes, new study shows

DutchNews, October 13, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

More people in the Netherlands are using electric bikes and they are growing in popularity among the young as well as pensioners, figures from the government mobility institute KiM have shown. 

In 2019 18% of all bike trips were made on electric bikes, compared to only 8% in 2013. Almost 10% of cycle trips made by the under-35s are now on an electric bike, which their use by 35 to 65-year-olds has more than doubled in six years. 

The KiM said electric bikes are increasingly used to travel to and from work although recreational use had doubled as well. Initially electric bikes were popular among the elderly but use among the under 65s is growing fast, the KiM said. 

Electric bike sales have been superseding the sale of ordinary bikes since 2017 and demand exploded earlier in the coronavirus crisis when people were wary of using public transport. In May the sale of electric bikes went up some 38% compared to the same month the year before. 

At the same time, the theft of electric bikes went up as well, by almost 40% in the last year. ‘Ordinary bikes are targeted by opportunists, but e-bikes are being stolen by organised gangs,’ a spokesman for bike insurer Enra said at the time.

Recycled plastic roads ready for rollout after bike paths prove successful

DutchNews, May 28, 2020 

Photo: Plasticroad.eu

Two successful trial runs of cycle paths madefrom recycled plastic waste have paved the way for larger scale projects in the Netherlands and abroad, the developers have said. 

KWS, plastic pipe maker Wavin and Total oil said on Thursday that after a 18 months of testing and developing, they now have a design suited for industrial production and that the technology is ready to be launched on the market in the first quarter of 2021. 

The first plastic cycle paths, which were built in Zwolle and Giethoorn with local council support, have proved to be able manage excessive water from rain, severe drought and everything in between, the makers said. 

The two 30 metre bike paths, which were made using 1,000 kilos of recycled plastic, were also found to have reduced CO2 emissions by some 50% to 70% compared to concrete or asphalt paths, the makers claim. 

Sensors in the paths were also used to monitor wear and tear and the paths were found to stand up well to heavy weights, like refuse and maintenance trucks. 

‘We have proven that our ground-breaking circular concept – a prefab road based on recycled plastic – is feasible in practice,’ Marcel Jager and Anne Koudstaal of the PlasticRoad team said. 

The next generation of roads will be more robust still which will make the concept a viable alternative for asphalt and concrete motorways and car parks as well pavements and school yards, the group said. 

The roll out will initially be focused on clients in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, after which they expect to scale up to markets in other parts of the world, the makers said.

Artists impression: KWS 

Related Article:

No burning rubber here: plastic road opens in Zwolle

Schiphol tests speed limiting system for super fast e-bikes

DutchNews, February 25, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Schiphol airport is to test an automatic braking system to reduce the speed of fast e-bikes and speed pedelecs around the airport to improve safety, airport officials announced on Tuesday. 

The test is part of a plan introduced by Schiphol with construction company BAM Infra and bike maker Gazelle in 2018. The aim is to ease congestion and promote cycling, including a 22km cycling route especially for fast bikes  Only 4,000 of the airport’s 66,000 staff currently cycle to work. 

The system, called the Intelligent Speed Assistent (ISA), would automatically limit the velocity of the bike to normal peddling speed on approaching the airport via a link to the GPS network. 

Cyclists would be warned that they are approaching the lower speed zone and, if they have an ISA fitted, the motor power would prevent the bike from travelling too fast. 

If the Schiphol test is successful, speed limiting systems could also be used to reduce problems caused by fast electric bikes in the centre of Amsterdam as well, Kees Bakker of cyclists organisation Fietsersbond told the Parool. 

Automatically limiting the speed would make it possible for people using super fast bikes to use the cycle paths. They are now required to use the main road. 

Asked if an outside intervention in their speed would be an infringement of cyclists’ freedom Bakker said e-bikes are already limited in how fast they can go. ‘You should look at it from another perspective: the system allows you to go faster where it is possible.’

Utrecht station’s bike park is now the biggest in the world

DutchNews, August 19, 2019

Photo: CU2030.nl 

A major extension to Utrecht’s railway station bike park opens on Monday, making it the biggest underground garage for bikes in the world, with space for 12,656 two-wheelers. 

The first phase opened in 2017 with space for 6,000 bikes. 

The completed bike park, over three floors, beats the previous record of 9,400 bikes held by Tokyo. It includes 480 spaces for cargo bikes and other bikes which don’t fit into regular spaces. 

The first 24 hours is free to park, after that the cost is €1.25 per day. Cyclists can follow electronic signs to the nearest empty spaces. 

‘The Netherlands is a very mobile country and the bike plus train are a golden combination,’ junior infrastructure minister Stientje van Veldhoven told the AD. ‘Thanks to this park bike you can cycle practically to the platform. The size of this project shows how many people, primarily commuters, are discovering the bike as a weapon against congestion.’ 

The government’s coalition agreement included a pledge to invest €100m in fast bike lanes and better infrastructure, and this was increased by a further €75m last year.

The Dutch bought one million bikes for a record €1.2bn last year

DutchNews, March 1, 2019

Electric bikes are popular with more than just pensioners. Photo: DutchNews.nl 

The Dutch spent a record €1.2bn buying new bikes in 2018 and the sale of electric bikes overtook those of traditional city bikes for the first time, according to new figures from the RAI association and Bovag. 

In total, the Dutch bought one million new bikes last year, a rise of 5.7% on 2017. The increase is partly due to the long, hot summer which encouraged more people to cycle, officials say. 

The sale of electric bikes rose a whopping 40% to 409,400, accounting for €823m of the total bill or an average of over €2,000 per bike. City bikes without electricity accounted for one third of the number of bikes sold, down from 42% in 2017. 

‘Electric bikes are becoming the new normal,’ the organisations said in a statement. ‘You can find electric bikes for all sorts of different target groups, from young to old. There are electric mountain bikes, transport bikes and cargo bikes so parents can move children around.’ 

Figures from research institute TNO show that people who buy a new bike tend to cycle more. 

Bovag and RAI expect that new rules for company bikes which are due to come into effect next year will boost bike sales by a further 150,000 a year. 

The rules involve encouraging more employers to pay their staff 19 cents a kilometre in travelling expenses if they use their own bike to get to work. The payment is part of the Dutch tax system but few employers use it.

Mobility scooters need urgent improvements, say road safety researchers

DutchNews, November 21, 2018

Senior woman at the seaside on mobility scooter

Mobility scooters used by thousands of elderly and immobile people in the Netherlands are not safe enough and need urgent action to meet tougher standards, according to road safety researchers. 

Dozens of people are killed every year in accidents involving mobility scooters. In total 38 mobility scooter users were killed in 2016 and 1,600 were taken to hospital after accidents. 

The road safety scientific research foundation (SWOV) has now researched 35 serious accidents involving the electric scooters.  It found that users who find themselves in dangerous situations tend to put pressure on the accelerator rather than let it go when they need to brake. 

The technology is similar to that used by the electric wagons used to transport children, known as the Stint. Stints have been banned from the Dutch roads pending safety checks after a fatal accident at a level crossing. 

The braking system is not the only problem with the scooters, the SWOV says. The scooters are not stable enough and are liable to tip on uneven roads or when they hit an obstacle.

It also recommends bike lanes are made wider, and without raised edges, to lessen the risk of accidents. 

Safe

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said in a reaction to the report that all mobility scooter users should be able to trust that their vehicles are safe. 

She said she is now in talks with manufacturers about the SWOV recommendations. 

Television consumers show Kassa reported last month that one reason so many mobility scooter users are killed may be due to the braking system.

Related Article:

Court upholds electric wagon road ban, says safety must come first

Two Stints in action. Photo: Stintum.nl

What’sApp? Dutch to ban cyclists from holding their mobile phones

DutchNews, September 25, 2018 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands is to ban all but the hands-free use of mobile phones on bikes from next year, the AD said on Tuesday. 

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen published draft legislation on Tuesday which will make it an offence ‘to hold a mobile electronic devices while driving all vehicles [so including bikes],’ the paper quoted the minister as saying. 

The paper says the words ‘mobile electronic device’ rather than mobile phone have been deliberately chosen to take developments in the future into account. 

Drivers are already banned from using their mobile phones without a hands-free connection in cars and lorries, with a maximum fine of €230. 

‘This decision sets a clear and consistent standard,’ the minister said. ‘If you are in charge of a vehicle in traffic, no matter what sort of mode of transport, you should not be holding mobile electronic equipment,’ Van Nieuwenhuizen said. 

The aim is to introduce the new legislation, which was first mooted in December, on July 1, 2019. 

One in three 12 to 21-year-olds cycle and use their phones at the same time and phones are said to have played a role in 20% of bike accidents involving the under-25s, the transport ministry said last year.

No burning rubber here: plastic road opens in Zwolle

DutchNews, September 11, 2018 - By Senay Boztas

Artists impression: KWS 

They call it re-cycling. The municipality of Zwolle today opens a trial 30m stretch of bike path made from reused plastic, in a project that hopes to speed up road building and give old bottles a second life. 

The PlasticRoad, made “from as much recycled plastic as possible” has been created by the businesses KWS, plastic pipe maker Wavin and Total oil and gas group and the pilot is being supported by Zwolle. 

The designers hope that the prefabricated road structure will be able to help prevent flooding, with a special hollow to hold water or carry cables, and last three times longer than traditional road structures. 

KWS announced the concept in 2015, with inventor Simon Jorritsma saying: “You see a bottle; we see a road.” 

A second trial road will be built in November in Overijssel province, reports the Telegraaf.

Dutch may soon pay workers using pedal-power

Yahoo – AFP, 15 June 2018

The Netherlands has tens-of-thousands of dedicated bicycle paths criss-crossing
its flat polders and canals

Dutch employees using pedal power to get to work may soon be reimbursed for their efforts, as the Netherlands look at ways to fight ever-growing congestion on its busy roads and highways.

"Let's get out of our cars and onto our bikes," Dutch deputy infrastructure minister Stientje van Veldhoven said this week, as she announced new measures to push even more citizens from four wheels to two.

"I want to stimulate cycling with the aim of getting 200,000 extra people out of their cars to cycle three billion kilometres more on their bicycles," she said in a press release.

One innovative idea is to compensate employees for cycling to work, with Van Veldhoven proposing a reimbursement of 19 cents ($0.22) per kilometre cycled from home and back.

Van Veldhoven is to discuss the proposal and other ways of promoting bicycle use through fiscal rewards such as subsidies to buy bicycles "with major national employers and small and medium enterprises," her ministry said in a statement.

Bicycle-mad Netherlands already counts more than 22 million cycles in a 

country of 17 million

Bicycle-mad Netherlands already counts more than 22 million cycles in a country of 17 million, according to the umbrella BOVAG federation of Dutch transport dealerships.

The country also has tens of thousands of dedicated bicycle paths criss-crossing its flat polders and canals.

"Bicycles play an important role when it comes to reachability, quality of life and health," Van Veldhoven said.

"It reduces traffic jams and gives people forced to use cars more space," she said.

More than half of people's daily trips in the Netherlands are less than 7.5 kilometres and more than half live less than 15 kilometres from work.

"With the development of the electric bicycle, this distance can easily be covered," the ministry added, saying that some 100 million euros have been budgeted to increase bicycle roads and bicycle parking space.

The Netherlands has tens-of-thousands of dedicated bicycle paths criss-crossing its flat polders and canals

Bicycle-mad Netherlands already counts more than 22 million cycles in a country of 17 million

Dutch King Willem-Alexander on a bicycle at the opening
of theInternational Bicycle Congress 'Velo-City 2017'

Zwolle to get ‘world’s first’ plastic bike path as trials start in September

DutchNews, June 8, 2018

Artists impression: KWS

Zwolle is to get what it says is the world’s first plastic cycle path – a 30 metre long stretch of ‘road’ made of recycled plastic which will be used to test if the technology is suitable to be rolled out in more places. 

The Zwolle bike path will be open to cyclists in September and a second stretch of track will be opened elsewhere in Overijssel province later in the year, civil engineering group KWS said in a website statement. 

The plastic road concept was launched by KWS in 2015 and since 2016, the company has further developed the project with plastic pipe maker Wavin and the Total oil and gas group. 

The two pilots will consist of 30 meter long bicycle paths made of hollow prefabricated elements so that water drainage and pipes can be inserted. Their exact location still has to be decided. 

‘These pilots mark an important step towards the developing process and success of the plastic road,’ KWS said. 

‘The objective is to create a road with a smaller ecological footprint than traditional road systems. When the elements reach their end of life expectancy they can be recycled again, contributing to a circular economy and cleaner environment,’ the company said.

Related Article:

Dutch company launches plan for recycled plastic roads

Sales of e-bikes take off, as do internet bike sales, says ABN Amro

DutchNews, May 30, 2018

Dutch consumers are buying more e-bikes and increasingly fewer traditional bikes, according to a study published on Wednesday by ABN Amro. 

Sales of e-bikes soared by 75% over the past seven years and one-third of all new bicycles are now powered by a battery,  the study said. Sales of traditional bikes, meanwhile, have fallen back 37% since 2010. 

ABN Amro is forecasting bike sales 3% higher in 2018. 

More bikes are also being sold online. In 2013, fewer than one in 10 bikes was bought online but that has now risen to over 25%. 

The total Dutch bike fleet is probably over 22.7 million by now – 1.3 bikes for every man, woman and child in the country –  roads lobby group Bovag said recently. 

‘We can’t give exact numbers because bikes don’t have number plates and are not registered centrally,’ a spokesman said.

For the first time, more cyclists are killed on the Dutch roads than people in cars

DutchNews, April 25, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The number of cyclists killed on the Dutch roads has outstripped the number of people killed in cars for the first time, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday. 

In total, 613 people were killed in traffic accidents last year, a drop of 16 on 2016. Of them, 206 of them were cyclists, a rise of 17 and the highest figure in 10 years, the CBS said. 

In addition, 201 people were killed in cars, 82 died in motorbike or moped accidents, 58 pedestrians were killed and 25 people died while using mobility scooters, the CBS said. 

While the number of people killed in car accidents has declined steadily, deaths among cyclists has been virtually unchanged for years. 

The over-65s account for two-thirds of deaths among cyclists, and e-bikes were involved in one in four bike accidents. 

Road safety body Veilig Verkeer Nederland said in a reaction it is important that road users are aware of their own physical limitations. ‘Being in traffic is a question of taking each other into account, and that is not difficult to do,’ spokesman Rob Stomphorst said. 

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said she would do ‘all’ she could to reverse the trend.

Fast bike tracks easily earn back their investment, say Dutch economists

DutchNews, April 17, 2018

King WIllem-Alexander checks out a new bike path in Nijmegen last year.
Photo: Bas de Meijer / Hollandse Hoogte 

Specialised bike paths aimed at commuters might be expensive but they can earn back their cost three times over, according to a cost-benefit analysis published in economics magazine ESB. 

Hundreds of kilometres of dedicated ‘bike highways’ which often link towns together and are closed to all other forms of transport, have been built in the Netherlands in recent years. 

However, the ambition to cover the country in a bike highway network is being tempered because of the cost and the lack of insight into other benefits, the magazine said. 

Now economists have researched the impact of bike highways and found that not only do they improve the comfort and safety of cyclists, they can encourage others to switch from cars to bikes as well. 

The research focused on a 14.4 kilometre stretch of road between Hellevoetsluis and Spijkenisse and calculated what impact a dedicated bike highway would have instead. 

‘Building it and maintenance would cost €5.7m but the benefits to society would reach €15.5m, so you would earn the investment back in five years,’ Ernst Bos of Wageningen Economic Research told the Volkskrant. 

Faster 

The new bike route would cut journey times because average speeds would be 5kph faster, the researchers said. 

They also put a financial value on comfort and safety and the enjoyment of nature. In addition, if just 1.4% of motorists decided to cycle instead, car numbers on the same road would be cut by 1,056. 

The new government has allocated €100m to boost the number of dedicated bike lanes.

Germany gives green light to bicycle highways

Yahoo – AFP, Pauline Houede,  December 29, 2015

Fans hail the smooth new velo routes as the answer to urban traffic jams and air
pollution, and a way to safely get nine-to-fivers outdoors (AFP Photo/Patrik Stollarz)

Berlin (AFP) - It's every cyclist's dream: no red lights, no trucks, just a clear, smooth lane to zoom down with the wind in your face. Welcome to Germany's first bicycle Autobahn.

Fans hail the smooth new velo routes as the answer to urban traffic jams and air pollution, and a way to safely get nine-to-fivers outdoors.

As a glimpse of a greener urban transport future, Germany has just opened the first five-kilometre (three-mile) stretch of a bicycle highway that is set to span over 100 kilometres.

It will connect 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm and four universities, running largely along disused railroad tracks in the crumbling Ruhr industrial region.

Almost two million people live within two kilometres of the route and will be able to use sections for their daily commutes, said Martin Toennes of regional development group RVR.

A cyclist enjoys the first five-kilometre (three-mile) stretch of a bicycle highway 

in Mulheim an der Ruhr, which will connect 10 western cities including Duisburg,

Bochum and Hamm and four universities (AFP Photo/Patrik Stollarz)

Aided by booming demand for electric bikes, which take the sting out of uphill sections, the new track should take 50,000 cars off the roads every day, an RVR study predicts.

The idea, pioneered in the Netherlands and Denmark, is gaining traction elsewhere in Germany too.

The banking centre of Frankfurt is planning a 30-kilometre path south to Darmstadt, the Bavarian capital of Munich is plotting a 15-kilometre route into its northern suburbs, and Nuremberg has launched a feasibility study into a track linking it with four cities.

In the capital Berlin, the city administration in early December gave the green light to a feasibility study on connecting the city centre with the leafy southwestern suburb of Zehlendorf.

Rapid track

The new velo routes are a luxury upgrade from the ageing single-lane bike paths common in many German cities, where tree roots below can create irregular speed bumps and a mellow cycling lane can suddenly end or, more alarmingly, merge into a bus lane.

The new velo routes are a luxury upgrade from the ageing single-lane bike

paths common in many German cities (AFP Photo/Patrik Stollarz)

The new type of bike routes are around four metres (13 feet) wide, have overtaking lanes and usually cross roads via overpasses and underpasses. The paths are lit and cleared of snow in winter.

Like most infrastructure projects, the bicycle Autobahn is facing headwinds, however, especially when it comes to financing.

In Germany, the situation is complicated because while the federal government generally builds and maintains motor-, rail- and waterways, cycling infrastructure is the responsibility of local authorities.

For the Ruhr region's initial five-kilometre rapid track, the cost was shared, with the European Union funding half, North Rhine-Westphalia state coughing up 30 percent, and the RVR investing 20 percent.

Toennes said talks are ongoing to rustle up 180 million euros ($196 million) for the entire 100-kilometre route, with the state government, run by centre-left Social Democrats and the Greens party, planning legislation to take the burden off municipalities.

The German Bicycle Club ADFC argues that, since about 10 percent of trips in 

the country are now done by bicycle, cycling infrastructure should get at least

10 percent of federal transport funding (AFP Photo/Patrik Stollarz)

"Without (state) support, the project would have no chance," said Toennes, pointing to the financial difficulties many local governments would have in paying for maintenance, lighting and snow clearance.

In Berlin, a heavily indebted city-state, the conservative CDU party has proposed a private financing model based in part on advertising along the route.

"The bike highways are new in Germany," said Birgit Kastrup, in charge of the Munich project. "We must find a new concept for funding them."

The German Bicycle Club ADFC argues that, since about 10 percent of trips in the country are now done by bicycle, cycling infrastructure should get at least 10 percent of federal transport funding.

"Building highways in cities is a life-threatening recipe from the 1960s," said its manager Burkhard Stork. "No one wants more cars in cities."

Going Dutch? Berkshire site tests Netherlands cycling model

Experiments gauge how British pedestrians and motorists react to pioneering Dutch-style bike infrastructure

The Guardian, Peter Walker, Monday 26 August 2013

The Transport Research Laboratory, near Bracknell, Berkshire, tests a
Dutch-style roundabout. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

It is a sunny morning in the Berkshire woodland and a small group of men and women clutching clipboards are lurking behind trees or amid the ferns, looking alert and expectant. Then the object of their attention comes into view: not a shy songbird or a rare mammal, but a cyclist clad in a fluorescent bib.

Followed closely by a small car, the rider stops by traffic lights at a road junction set somewhat incongruously amid the trees. Another bike-and-car duo rolls into view at the other side. The various lights turn green, and everyone heads cautiously on their way.

This is the test ground of the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) near Bracknell, and the closely watched traffic flows are part of a pioneering project that could fundamentally change Britain's inner cities over the next few decades.

TRL, formerly part of the Department for Transport but now a world-leading independent research group, is conducting a £4m test programme for Transport for London (TfL) to see how Dutch-style cycling infrastructure, such as segregated lanes and cyclist-priority roundabouts, can be adapted to British road conditions.

Work has already begun to reshape some London roads and junctions, part of a grandiose£900m plan unveiled by Boris Johnson earlier this year. Campaigners hope other areas could follow suit, tilting life in urban Britain away from decades of car dominance.

The trial being observed that morning was for low-level, cycle-specific traffic lights set a couple of metres forward from those for cars, keeping riders ahead and visible. When they are introduced, the cyclists' lights will probably turn green a few seconds earlier than the standard traffic lights, giving riders a head start. Participants receive minimal information about what to expect and the TRL researchers keep out of view, hence the hiding amid the shrubbery.

Elsewhere on the vast TRL campus, a series of other bike-friendly layouts are being tested, including a "bus bypass", which places bus stops safely out of cycle lanes, a bike lane separated by intermittent "armadillo" reflective humps rather than a kerb, and, most ambitiously of all, a Dutch-style roundabout with a segregated gyratory flow for bikes. There is also a computer simulator in which people "drive" a real car around a bike-filled cityscape projected on to surround screens. The scheme has already used 2,500 paid testers and is seeking more all the time.

Such extensive testing is necessary, not least because innovations need regulatory approval, said Dana Skelley, director of roads for TfL. "Pretty much everything here is a layout that we're not permitted to have on national roads under the current legislation. We realised that if we wanted to attract more people to cycle, more safely and more often, it was necessary to create a more cycle-friendly environment, and we looked towards Europe for that."

Domestic road users were generally not familiar with all this, she added: "Just because it works in Europe doesn't mean it's going to be OK. We needed to understand how British drivers understand these new road layouts and how they behave."

This is particularly the case with the roundabout, where drivers have to learn that the circular flow of cyclists has priority, not only over vehicles joining the system, but those turning to exit.

Commenting on the first tests, Peter Vermaat, a TRL engineer, said: "The drivers don't really know what to do, so generally they give way to the cyclists. We've had some sudden braking a couple of times, but nothing worse."

The test site is the physical manifestation of a long-running campaign by cycle groups for infrastructure that is not just well designed but sufficiently continuous to tempt a wider range of cyclists – children, or older people, especially women – on to urban streets.

The message of the London Cycling Campaign's Love London, Go Dutch project seemed to have been absorbed, said Mike Cavenett from the group. "I always liken TfL to one of those enormous oil tankers. It's a big, £7bn beast with thousands of employees and it takes time to turn around. But it is turning. There is a change in attitudes."

He added: "I think TfL are realising that. There is still inertia, and some elements are still deeply conservative about the changes. But other elements get it."

While some Dutch-style infrastructure will arrive soon – a new section of London's previously criticised cycle superhighways is being built with segregation and redesigned junctions – other innovations could prove more problematic.

Chris Peck, from the national cycling organisation CTC, argues that Dutch-style roundabouts are reliant on traffic flows much lower than the 50,000 vehicles a day seen on some roads in inner London. "That's far beyond the advised capacity for a Dutch roundabout. It's far too high to allow priority over side roads," he said. "If you had a platoon of cyclists coming all at once, which tends to be how traffic moves, and they have priority over traffic trying to get off the roundabout, that could lock up the roundabout very quickly. They will only work along with measures to reduce motorised traffic."

Gov expects bike lane in South Jakarta to spread across Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sun, 05/22/2011

Cyclists riding down a freshly painted bike lane which stretches

1.4 kilometers along Jalan Mahakam from Ayodya Park in South Jakarta

to Melawai on Jalan Iskandarsyah. Governor Fauzi Bowo called on

all motorists to respect the lane and leave it clear for bicyclists.(Antara

Photo/Reno Esnir)

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said Sunday he expected new bike lanes in South Jakarta will spread across Jakarta as part of efforts to help reduce traffic and create a healthy environment.

"Five mayoralties in Jakarta should follow South Jakarta’s effort to build bike lanes,” Fauzi said at the inauguration of the bike lane at Ayodia Park, Blok M, South Jakarta, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that riding a bike was healthy and could help reduce pollution.

He also called on car and motorbike owners to tolerate bicyclists by not using the bike lane.