Let’s talk about IT, because I think there is a lot going on in the transportation technology sector that will affect cycling and cyclists. What I talk about are Intelligent Transportation Systems. On these slides you see some examples of the possibilities that are either already available, or are being developed. like
- blind spot detection on cars
- a braking light on the bike
- communication between the infrastructure and cars and bikes
- information sharing on mobile devices
So there is some ‘intelligence’ (computer / technology) component.
This topic has a worldwide relevance as the technology and car industry is a worldwide business. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will begin to take steps to enable vehicle-2-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles, meaning that vehicles will be able to ‘talk’ to each other and avoid crashes. Although the words cyclist and pedestrian pop up in the documents and there is some research that includes cycling, I am not confident that the transportation technology sector will naturally include the needs of all cyclists, pedestrians, and also children playing on the street. I think that cyclists themselves are not yet involved enough in the whole vehicle-2-vehicle conversation. Not in Europe and not in North America.
Fietsveiligheid staat de laatste paar jaar weer flink in de belangstelling. Vallende ouderen met e-bikes en jongeren die hun smartphone op de fiets gebruiken zetten ons aan het denken over welke maatregelen er nodig zijn om het fietsen in Nederland verder veilig te maken en houden voor iedereen.
En ja, laten we het in dat kader maar eens hebben over fietsen en IT.
February 2014 I attended the Winter Cycling Congress in Winnipeg, Canada. Together with my colleague Quentin Dumont-Freixo I gathered data about cycling in winter in the Netherlands and conducted a survey amongst 303 Dutch respondents, asking about their use of the bicycle in winter and their opinions on topics like lighting, special tyres and clothes in winter.
Cooperation and communication for a new bicycle policyMobycon
A paper I wrote for the European Velocity 2007 cycling conference in Munich, Germany. It is about the importance of cooperation and communication when developing a (local) bicycle policy. Based on my personal experiences in my hometown Tilburg, Netherlands
There are many ways to reduce the risk of cycling accidents, such as building separate cycling infrastructure, increasing the visibility of cyclists and reducing the speed of cars where cyclists and cars share the same road. The SAFECYCLE project, which is co-funded by the European Commission – DG MOVE, took a different approach. It investigated how ICT can be used to increase the safety of cyclists. This is newsletter #3, the final newsletter of this research project that was finalized in November 2012. Check out more publications and presentations on www.safecycle.eu
Route planners for bicycling are a great tool for cyclists, municipalities and tourism (related) organisations. It makes way finding much more easy and gives cyclists the independence that they often seek. Also, it makes it easier for municipalities, regions and organisations to give information to (potential) cyclists. The interactive route planner and navigation “Naviki” is an even more attractive means of transportation for commuters, citizens and visitors.
In the years to come urban areas in the EU face the challenge of making transport sustainable in terms of environment and competitiveness. Cycling is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport. SAFECYCLE looks at how ITS / ICT can help making cycling safer through the use of e-safety applications.
Cycling cultures - upbeat to a comparative study of human scale mobilityMobycon
This is a presentation prepared for the Scientists for Cycling network. Connected with the European Cyclist Federation during Velocity 2012 in Vancouver.
Let’s talk about IT, because I think there is a lot going on in the transportation technology sector that will affect cycling and cyclists. What I talk about are Intelligent Transportation Systems. On these slides you see some examples of the possibilities that are either already available, or are being developed. like
- blind spot detection on cars
- a braking light on the bike
- communication between the infrastructure and cars and bikes
- information sharing on mobile devices
So there is some ‘intelligence’ (computer / technology) component.
This topic has a worldwide relevance as the technology and car industry is a worldwide business. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will begin to take steps to enable vehicle-2-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles, meaning that vehicles will be able to ‘talk’ to each other and avoid crashes. Although the words cyclist and pedestrian pop up in the documents and there is some research that includes cycling, I am not confident that the transportation technology sector will naturally include the needs of all cyclists, pedestrians, and also children playing on the street. I think that cyclists themselves are not yet involved enough in the whole vehicle-2-vehicle conversation. Not in Europe and not in North America.
Fietsveiligheid staat de laatste paar jaar weer flink in de belangstelling. Vallende ouderen met e-bikes en jongeren die hun smartphone op de fiets gebruiken zetten ons aan het denken over welke maatregelen er nodig zijn om het fietsen in Nederland verder veilig te maken en houden voor iedereen.
En ja, laten we het in dat kader maar eens hebben over fietsen en IT.
February 2014 I attended the Winter Cycling Congress in Winnipeg, Canada. Together with my colleague Quentin Dumont-Freixo I gathered data about cycling in winter in the Netherlands and conducted a survey amongst 303 Dutch respondents, asking about their use of the bicycle in winter and their opinions on topics like lighting, special tyres and clothes in winter.
Cooperation and communication for a new bicycle policyMobycon
A paper I wrote for the European Velocity 2007 cycling conference in Munich, Germany. It is about the importance of cooperation and communication when developing a (local) bicycle policy. Based on my personal experiences in my hometown Tilburg, Netherlands
There are many ways to reduce the risk of cycling accidents, such as building separate cycling infrastructure, increasing the visibility of cyclists and reducing the speed of cars where cyclists and cars share the same road. The SAFECYCLE project, which is co-funded by the European Commission – DG MOVE, took a different approach. It investigated how ICT can be used to increase the safety of cyclists. This is newsletter #3, the final newsletter of this research project that was finalized in November 2012. Check out more publications and presentations on www.safecycle.eu
Route planners for bicycling are a great tool for cyclists, municipalities and tourism (related) organisations. It makes way finding much more easy and gives cyclists the independence that they often seek. Also, it makes it easier for municipalities, regions and organisations to give information to (potential) cyclists. The interactive route planner and navigation “Naviki” is an even more attractive means of transportation for commuters, citizens and visitors.
In the years to come urban areas in the EU face the challenge of making transport sustainable in terms of environment and competitiveness. Cycling is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport. SAFECYCLE looks at how ITS / ICT can help making cycling safer through the use of e-safety applications.
Cycling cultures - upbeat to a comparative study of human scale mobilityMobycon
This is a presentation prepared for the Scientists for Cycling network. Connected with the European Cyclist Federation during Velocity 2012 in Vancouver.
Get on your bike; cycling education in the NetherlandsMobycon
In the Netherlands cycling is a crucial part of the transport system and culture. For men and women, for young, middle-aged and old, the rich and the poor.
Cycling education is an essential element to keep up the high cycling rates. Also, it is an important instrument to make traffic safe for cyclists. In practice this means that there are three main target groups for cycling education: children, adults that come from countries with a non-cycling background and elderly.
This formal and informal education plays an important role in keeping up the high level of independent mobility for all.
Parents play an important role in the informal cycling education of their children. Schools add to this with theoretical and practical lessons. Apart from this education for children, there are also trainings for adults with a background from non-cycling countries. Especially women with young children want to learn to cycle, as the opportunity that cycling offers fits very well to their specific transportation needs.
Another specific target group for cycling education are the elderly. Traditionally elderly keep on cycling. Through education they are more aware of the specific aspects that many elderly face in traffic on their bicycle.
In the Netherlands the vast majority of the inhabitants know how to bicycle and know the rules of traffic for cyclists. People that drive a car are also cyclists at other moments during the day or week. Together with a lot of attention for road design, separation of transportation modes and traffic calming where necessary this has created a relatively safe environment for the many cyclists that are on the road each day.
The formal and informal cycling education system that has evolved in the Netherlands over the years, can be an inspiration for other countries that are developing their own cycling culture. Parents, schools, community groups and e.g. associations of elderly all play their specific role. At the same time, examples from other countries that are developing their cycling culture can be a source of inspiration for Dutch initiatives.
The historical city Zwolle is the provincial capital of Overijssel. It has about 115.000 inhabitants and 65.000 jobs, 450.000 movements each day, for 46% by bicycle. From 1975 onwards the city actively stimulates cycling. It has a lot of cycling facilities: an almost finished cycle network, consisting of many cycle lanes, ‘bicycle streets’ and guarded and unguarded bicycle parking. Zwolle is a top level cycle-city!
Balance on the bike, an essay on the relationship between gender and cycling.Mobycon
It is clear from statistics and statements that many less women are cycling than men in the world, though they are (over) half the world’s population. With this essay we intend to rethink the reasons why women are still in the minority in comparison to men in the context of bicycle use. It is a call to the cycling world to think twice before speaking about women and cycling; that it is important to look at the issue with a more detailed and in-depth analysis and not leave it at the superficial level of fashion, as much of the mainstream media and mainstream biking world is doing. This debate must have more depth, and explore the root causes of why women are not cycling as much as men in almost all places in the world. Once we clearly define the root causes we can do the important work of changing the situation so as to bring women into the empowering world of cycling.
Get on your bike; cycling education in the NetherlandsMobycon
In the Netherlands cycling is a crucial part of the transport system and culture. For men and women, for young, middle-aged and old, the rich and the poor.
Cycling education is an essential element to keep up the high cycling rates. Also, it is an important instrument to make traffic safe for cyclists. In practice this means that there are three main target groups for cycling education: children, adults that come from countries with a non-cycling background and elderly.
This formal and informal education plays an important role in keeping up the high level of independent mobility for all.
Parents play an important role in the informal cycling education of their children. Schools add to this with theoretical and practical lessons. Apart from this education for children, there are also trainings for adults with a background from non-cycling countries. Especially women with young children want to learn to cycle, as the opportunity that cycling offers fits very well to their specific transportation needs.
Another specific target group for cycling education are the elderly. Traditionally elderly keep on cycling. Through education they are more aware of the specific aspects that many elderly face in traffic on their bicycle.
In the Netherlands the vast majority of the inhabitants know how to bicycle and know the rules of traffic for cyclists. People that drive a car are also cyclists at other moments during the day or week. Together with a lot of attention for road design, separation of transportation modes and traffic calming where necessary this has created a relatively safe environment for the many cyclists that are on the road each day.
The formal and informal cycling education system that has evolved in the Netherlands over the years, can be an inspiration for other countries that are developing their own cycling culture. Parents, schools, community groups and e.g. associations of elderly all play their specific role. At the same time, examples from other countries that are developing their cycling culture can be a source of inspiration for Dutch initiatives.
The historical city Zwolle is the provincial capital of Overijssel. It has about 115.000 inhabitants and 65.000 jobs, 450.000 movements each day, for 46% by bicycle. From 1975 onwards the city actively stimulates cycling. It has a lot of cycling facilities: an almost finished cycle network, consisting of many cycle lanes, ‘bicycle streets’ and guarded and unguarded bicycle parking. Zwolle is a top level cycle-city!
Balance on the bike, an essay on the relationship between gender and cycling.Mobycon
It is clear from statistics and statements that many less women are cycling than men in the world, though they are (over) half the world’s population. With this essay we intend to rethink the reasons why women are still in the minority in comparison to men in the context of bicycle use. It is a call to the cycling world to think twice before speaking about women and cycling; that it is important to look at the issue with a more detailed and in-depth analysis and not leave it at the superficial level of fashion, as much of the mainstream media and mainstream biking world is doing. This debate must have more depth, and explore the root causes of why women are not cycling as much as men in almost all places in the world. Once we clearly define the root causes we can do the important work of changing the situation so as to bring women into the empowering world of cycling.