Cycling: Is it time to swap four wheels for two?

Pohjaan, kuten kuten se on tullut katsotaan, että se on tullut katsotaan. Kuten se on tullut katsotaan, että se on tullut katsotaan, että se on tullut katsotaan, että se on tullut katsotaan. jatokan jälkeen kärsäisiin, toteutamme varten. Kärsä, jota viikaa jälkeen kärsäisiin, jota viikaa kärsäisiin. Vari, kärsä, jota viikaa. Aika on ollut kärsä. Aika on laurantamme. Aika on jälkeen kärsä. Aika on jatokan jälkeen kärsä. Part 1. Bike Boon. We're going to begin in a country where its citizens are outnumbered by bikes. According to government statistics in the Netherlands, there's somewhere between 23 and 24 million bicycles compared to around 18 million Dutch people. And to understand the appeal of the bike in the Netherlands, we're speaking to a cycling expert. I bet you've got a dead posh bike then, don't you? I've got a couple. I've got a couple bikes. Yes, yes. My name is Meredith Glazer. I'm the CEO of a nonprofit called Urban Cycling Institute. I'm also a professor of cycling at Gent University and senior lecturer at the University of Amsterdam. Around 28% of all journeys in the Netherlands are by bike. And that rises to more than half in urban areas. So where did this biking culture come from? The bicycle is deeply ingrained into Dutch culture. We even see this with high-ranking officials who are often seen riding typical black Dutch bikes. But the rise of cycling started in the industrial era when bicycle manufacturing took off. And it went from a toy for rich people to an everyday tool for transportation. And this was a really important milestone for cycling in the Netherlands. But it also really helped that there was a local bicycle industry. So in the Netherlands there were companies that were producing bicycles. Another reason for the growth of cycling in the early 20th century was that, unlike other European countries, the Netherlands never really had a major domestic car industry. And to that, the Calvinist heritage of the country with its ideas of frugality and prudence. And, believe's Meredith Glazer, you get a culture ready to adopt a humble, simple machine like the bicycle. But after the Second World War, car ownership boomed. And urban planners embraced the car, which in turn led to a backlash in the early 1970s. Grassroots organisations campaigned not just on the pollution that cars brought with them, but also on road safety. And some of these movements were very, very powerful and very effective in their communication. One in particular that comes to mind is in Dutch, it's called Stop the Gindermort. That translates to stop the child murder. And this campaign, even though it was very small and based in only an Amsterdam, it was very powerful in its messaging and reaching politicians. And because of these grassroots movements, they were very effective in the process of the road. And they were very effective in convincing policy makers and planners of the time to start to think about change and start to think about different ways of approaching urban development. These grassroots movements coincided with a global oil crisis in 1973 to 1974, triggered by the Yom Kippur War. When countries like the Netherlands heavily dependent on importing oil, were hit by an embargo from Arab producers. In places such as the US, the response to the price shock was to conserve, introducing new national speed limits to maximise fuel efficiency and changes to daylight saving to reduce electricity use. In the Netherlands, the crisis contributed to what Meredith calls a perfect storm, tapping into concerns about over-alliance on cars that were already being debated. In the Netherlands, they just said, "Okay, we're just not driving. You know, one or two days a week, no driving at all." So there's these really incredible images of young kids riding on the highways and the Netherlands. They had to be some massive cuts and they had to cut the amount of driving that was happening. And the effect that it had was to be able to rethink how we plan and the policies that we make for our cities. The policy switch in the Netherlands has largely survived the test the time. And the example set there has spread to other European capitals, notably Paris in France and Copenhagen in Denmark, both of which have invested heavily in cycling infrastructure in recent years. The advent of electric bikes and scooters has also brought new transport options to those not strong or fit enough to ride a traditional pushbike. But there are some worrying signs according to Meredith and even in the Netherlands habits might be changing. We're seeing decreasing rates of cycling among elderly, even some children as well. Children have lower rates of cycling competencies now than they did even 10 years ago. These developments aren't positive if the Netherlands wants to continue to be the cycling nation that it's known around the world as. And I think the response to that from the urban planning perspective is making sure that we are building complete neighbourhoods, neighbourhoods that have high accessibility to essential goods and services. However, designing neighbourhoods around cycling provision has become controversial and political in some places. In Berlin, for example, there's now an intense debate over how money should be spent and where the car owners are getting the raw end of the deal. That's where we'll head next in part two. Part two. Bike Clash. Cycling has become a significant mode of transport across the world, especially in Western Europe. In Germany, it's embedded into the federal government's approach to transport. On a national level, there is a so-called national cycling strategy which is looking at where this country develops until 2030. Our second witness is Lev Kessonksen. She's a research associate at the German Institute of Urban Affairs. Her work focuses on mobility and the redistribution of street spaces. And the claimed goal of the cycling strategy is actually that Germany becomes a cycling nation by 2030 and they put some numbers to it. For example, they want to double the distances cike from 2017 to 2030, but they also want to make cycling more safe, both on a subjective but also especially on an objective level. For Lev Kessonksen, the national debate over cycling has been most intense when it comes to the nation's capital. So in Berlin, there was a huge moment for cycling promotion, which was actually driven from a bottom-up initiative, which resulted in the so-called mobility law, where there were huge aims formulated on how cycling but more broadly active mobility and public transport should be improved also on a legal level. The legislation Lev Kessonksen refers to there was set out in 2018, passed by a coalition of social democrats, greens and the left wing delinco party, which ran the city at the time. It was legally binding and that was fought from a bottom-up initiative and come into law. However, then there was also a political backlash which kind of took some power away from this law and also not only power but especially funding. It was a first. its kind legislation in Germany that legally mandated specific transport priorities, namely walking, cycling and public transport over the claims of motorists. Ambitions were high, and extra €100 million, about €117 million, for cycling infrastructure. Tens so-called bike super highways across the city, amounting to around 100 kilometres. Lower speed limits for cars and more spaces to park bikes. But in the 2023 elections, the Centreright Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, took control of Berlin's government. After campaigning, in part, against what it said was an overprioritisation of cyclists and pedestrians at the expense of motorists. So first there was a reversal of political will, which then resulted in a reversal of funding. Because in Berlin, the cycling funded both through the senate and the district. So the senate kind of provides the money to the districts. And the senate then decided with the political shift and power that they would also deprioritise some or most of the cycling projects. So in the first years, there was not so much happening on the street, but a lot of plans were made of how to improve cycling infrastructure. And then with the political shift, the funding was cut, which also means that even though there were a lot of great plans, they never really made it into being. It is in some ways polarized and ideologised. The debate over mobility in Berlin has turned from a local urban planning issue into a full-blown culture war that splits largely down party lines. Having set down a blueprint for developing cycling infrastructure with ambitious goals, Berlin is now a case study in what some have called bike lash. A political backlash where the rights of car owners have been reasserted by a conservative lead administration, producing intense friction with environmental activists and cyclists. It's a backlash that springs in part from the place the automobile occupies in German culture. As one of the powerhouses of automobile production since the Second World War, cars became a symbol. Well, Germany is probably known as a car country in the beginning. So even this claim of becoming a cycling nation was very ambitious. The car is way more than a mobility option. It's connected to some kind of promise of freedom of individuality. And then of course, it's very hard to change these ideas about car use, especially if it's so convenient as it is most of the time still. To what extent is the debate over the health benefits and the environmental benefits of cycling? To what extent is that part of the discussion or the moment? Or is it become a pure discussion about freedom versus sustainability? So in Germany, they are trying to shift the discussion more towards this perspective actually. Everyone would agree that we need healthy places. And so it's a topic that actually connects a lot of qualities that would be improved by promoting cycling infrastructure. So this is actually one way of framing why we need to rethink our streets. How then does the environment impact on the benefits of cycling? Many believe cycling is good for our mental and physical wellbeing. But as we're about to hear, there are problems in some parts of the world. [Music] Aloita Ilmainen kokeilu Shopify piste kom sivustolla. How did a boycott Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On good bad billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr. Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days, counted to a hundred thousand on camera, and even recreated squid games, all in attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man ten thousand dollars. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on good bad billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts. You're listening to the inquiry from the BBC World Service with me, Gary O'Donnell-Hugh. We're about to get back into the saddle for part three of our cycling episode. But before we do, I just want to tell you about our huge archive of previous inquiry episodes. This includes how will countries boycotting Eurovision affect the contest? And is the 2026 World Cup an own goal? Just search for those or others from our archive, wherever you get your podcasts. And while you're there, please subscribe and turn on push notifications so you don't miss a thing. Now back to the programme. While much of the debate about cycling focuses on its advantages for the environment and on diversifying away from an overdependence on oil, its proponents also highlight the health benefits to those who can take it up. Our third witness is Enke U. She's a professor of geography at the University of Buffalo in the US. She's studied the impact cycling can have on our health. It's good for your cardiovascular and it changed the mood. So people with depression, this would be great one way to get out of that loop. And also it's good for weight control, diabetes. So yeah, there's a lot of it has benefit. But cyclists in many cities around the world can also face significant respiratory risks from inhaling pollution. Particulates and nitrogen dioxide are among the most damaging, coming from vehicle emissions and taken into the lungs by cyclists during physical exertion. It's something that can have an especially significant impact on vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or those with chronic diseases like asthma. Enke U says in some parts of the world, such as a home country of career, cyclists are wiser to these risks than in other places like the US. So in recent years we experienced even in Buffalo where I live. We got like a few days of bed air quality. And that is coming from wildfire in Canada. And I observed a lot of people just ignore those warnings and they just doing what they used to do, like including cycling or running outside. Whereas in Korea, people are actually, you know, they've been more frequently exposed to this bed air quality, historically and with a higher intensity. So I've seen most people when there is a warning from their media, there will be bad air. Then the next day, like most people wear masks. The cyclist trying to balance the risks and rewards of cycling. Enke U says real-time pollution maps can help avoid the worst areas of the city. And when the air is just too poisonous, it's time to switch to public transport until it improves. Also, the rise of electric bikes does mean that less exertion means fewer pollutants are inhaled. And the technology has opened up two-wheel transport to a wider demographic. The good news is, you know, nowadays not only just the old-fashioned traditional bicycle, but I've seen a lot of advancement in new types of bicycle that is based on the electric or the hybrid. So my cycling friend actually, as they get aged, they found it's hard to keep up with other friend cyclists who are still young and they go fast. So that means that the development in the technology can expand the numbers of people, the different demographics, older people who can benefit from getting around on two wheels rather than four. But, you know, there'll be less of the exercise benefit. But still, they do not need to be stuck at home. They can move even without a car. If electric bikes are widening the numbers of people who can adopt two wheels, there's also an expansion in the places around the world where cycling is being given a significant boost by public policymakers. One such place is the Middle East, where many of the petrol economies are beginning to embrace the benefits of the bike. Part 4 - Cycling in the Sun. I think a lot of people will immediately think of cars and traffic when they're thinking of golf cities. And certainly when I arrived, it was very much like that. Our final witness is Martin Tillman. He's a transport consultant who's lived in the region for 20 years. I feel that the cities are designed for cars originally, and they have gradually transferred, transformed into cities that are much more livable and walkable. So I think there has been a transition. As soon as witnessed this new enthusiasm among governments in Middle Eastern countries, to expand cycling as part of wider policy challenges, and he thinks there's several reasons why they're interested. One is this first mile last mile solution, being able to connect a transport system like the new rail, we've got Etihad rail coming into the United Arab Emirates, we've got metro systems, bus systems, but the first mile last mile issue is the one that needs to be resolved, and that typically is dealt with by modes such as cycling. So they see that as part of the integrated transport network, we also have quality of life and livability, all the cities in the Gulf are very competitive and they would love to be ranked very high in those global rankings, and cycling is seen as part of that quality of life solution. And I think there's also measures about public health, sustainability, and let's not forget tourism is a very important aspect of the life here in the Middle East, and I believe that's quite important from a cycling point of view to allow people to explore and to see other attractions around the city. This impetus is being felt across the Middle East, with Emirates like Dubai instituting targets, such as 30% of all trips being by public transport by 2030. More than 600 kilometers of cycle tracks are already in place there, part of a wider push towards sustainability. But there are challenges, and in particular the heat. We're not trying to make it so that cycling is available from the middle of the day in the middle of the summer. The idea is to extend the feasible time that it's possible to cycle at a comfortable temperature. So the shading structures ideally will be using natural foliage or sort of light shading structures that are put in place. We will put in rest stops. So these are little cycling hubs where people can stop, there'll be seats, there'll be misting stations, which is this like a light cool steam that is blown out, which is actually quite effective in the heat. It's just there nicely to cool the temperature down. And obviously water fountain somewhere where you can fill up a water bottle and just to cool off. And that allows you to do longer distances because there's these little brake stops purposely set out for you on your journey. Martin says golf countries are actively studying what works best in other parts of the world, benchmarking the rollout of cycling infrastructure to analyse what can be implemented locally. It's certainly not a copy and paste of what is good in Holland or Denmark could actually work well in Dubai. But the key is that we're looking for the principles, the principles of safety. These are the principles that we want to embrace. The idea that cycling traditions and structures can't simply be copied from one part of the world to another is central to Martin's argument. One challenge there's been in the Middle East is as basic as teaching people how to ride a bike. There is no one size fits all and there should not be one size fits all. It is absolutely true that what works in Dubai may not necessarily work in Beijing or Mumbai for example. But that doesn't mean that cycling is not one of the solutions for transport mobility within those cities. We began the programme by asking whether it was time to switch from four wheels to two. We've heard from places such as the Netherlands where this has been happening for years, where it's become part of the national identity. Yes, it might move up and down the priority list from time to time, but it is an established part of most people's lives. We've also seen though an example of cycling becoming a significant political fault line as it has in Berlin, a symbol of wider cultural arguments. And while it would be simplistic to divide people there into pro and anti-bike or car, the backlash against cycling prioritisation is real and money is being cut. Few doubt the advantages of two wheels in terms of our health and the environment, but there are considerations that have to be taken into account, including how to keep everyone on our roads safe and whether electric cars are in part an answer to those who want greener forms of four wheel transport. Or price instability like we have now hits motorists hard and inevitably leads to people considering alternatives. But one thing has emerged from what we've heard and that is that cycling isn't a solution for all people everywhere. For those in rural areas, for the elderly, for some disabled people, cars cannot be dispensed with. You've been listening to the inquiry with me, Gary O'Donohue. Before we finish, I just wanted to let you know that there's even more episodes of the inquiry available to listen to. And how can rewilding help combat climate change? Just search for the inquiry wherever you get your podcasts. This edition of the inquiry was produced by Matt Tulson. The researcher was Evie Yabsley, the editor Tom Bigwood and the technical producer was Richard Haniford. Imagine being here. Scientists have made the atomic bomb. The first one was dropped on a Japanese city this morning. Here. 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