Freewheeling down Dutch country
TO EVERY car sold in the Netherlands, the Dutch buy 2 bicycles. To own an automobile is no longer a status symbol. On the other hand, the Dutch are very particular about their bicycles. In a country of 15 million people, there are about 14 million bicycles. Since 1970, people owning at least one bicycle has gone up from 7 to 12 million.
A major reason for the rapid growth has been the recent breakthroughs in new hybrids of city-cum-mountain bikes -- the all terrain bikes (ATBs). Some of these are real masterpieces of 2-wheel high technology but a lot are ordinary workhorses, the Dobbins of the bipedal world. The bike is used for all kinds of personal transportation: to go to work, church, shopping centre or to bring children to school. The bicycle is also popular among health freaks and -- naturally -- the thieving fraternity that stole 900,000 bikes in 1992 alone.
Holland has an extensive network of bicycling tracks and although a lot needs to be done to provide enough space to bicyclists, the basic infrastructure is firmly in place. But more important, cities and rural areas have separate planning schemes for bicycles. The rule of the thumb in Holland followed in recent years has been to speed up the building of good bicycle networks and other innovations like priority treatment of bicycles at traffic lights, and better shelters and, simultaneously, discouraging the use of cars through measures like a strict ceiling on investments on new roads and parking areas.
The bicycle came into its own in the late '70s when organisations like the Dutch Cyclists' Union voiced the increasing concern of people protesting against the riproaring tyranny of cars. The bicycle secured a high place on the agendas of a lot of cities and villages. These movements were supported by a wide range of people: people who just wanted a bicycle and were hornet mad at the supremacy of cars and others who were just plumb scared about the safety of their children.
The bicycle found a lot of instant converts. Promoting the use of bicycles also meant less financial outlay on those dumb, barfing dinosaurs -- the private car. Organisations like the Tourist Union -- whose membership covers most Dutch families -- and the Dutch Railways also discovered that their clients were in favour of higher priority for bicycles.
The combination of bike-plus-public transport for a trip has also become very popular. There are facilities to support the combined use, but the general feeling is that not enough effort has been made to take full advantage of the system. Although different types of storage facilities make transit easier, the facilities still have a long way to go to be satisfactory. And rampant cycle thefts put paid to the happy notion of a clean trip.
Since the '80s, the construction of safe bicycle tracks in built-up areas and in the countryside has been on priority. Holland's topography makes it a less-than-model country for cycling. Strong winds blow throughout the year and it rains for more than 6 per cent of the time. In some areas near main roads and where there is smog, the air pollution is an inescapable negative factor. There is also the feeling that, with four-wheeled monsters singing down roads, the bike is not so safe. Although the safety factor on the roads has improved over the years, 250 cyclists died in traffic accidents in 1992.
The distances people need to travel have increased over the years. Four years ago, most people lived and worked within the same community. They were happy with recreation areas in the vicinity. They mostly visited friends and relatives living nearby. But everything is changing, from social mores to the rites of living. To prepare for the changes in social patterns, the Dutch government came up with the Bicycle Master Plan in 1991 as an integral part of the long-term general traffic and transport plan.