Cycling in Berlin

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Demonstration on bicycles, Berlin 1990.

Cycling in Berlin is a significant form of transport in the German capital where around 500,000 daily bike riders accounted for 13% of total traffic in 2009.[1] The city has highly developed bicycling infrastructure[2] and it is estimated that Berlin has 710 bicycles per 1000 residents.

Bicycle network

A section of the Berlin Wall Trail

Berliners have access to 620 km (390 mi) of bike paths including around 150 km (93 mi) mandatory bicycle paths, 190 km (120 mi) off-road bicycle routes, 60 km (37 mi) of bike lanes on the roads, 70 km (43 mi) of shared bus lanes open to cyclists, 100 km (62 mi) of combined pedestrian/bike paths and 50 km (31 mi) of marked bike lanes on the sidewalks.[3]

In addition to a variety of bike paths and bike lanes there are also Fahrradstrassen (bicycle streets) where bikes have priority and vehicles are limited to 30kmh.

Signage for the Berlin Wall Trail

Along the former path of the Berlin Wall there is now the Berliner Mauerweg, the Berlin Wall Trail.

Long-distance routes

On the Berlin to Usedom trail

There are a number of regional and long-distance bike paths that run through Berlin. These include the Berlin-Copenhagen trail, Berlin-Usedom Cycle Route and the European Cycle Route R1.

Bicycles on public transport

Riders are allowed to carry their bicycles on Berlin's S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains, on trams, and on night buses[4] if a bike ticket is purchased.[5]

Public bicycle hire system

A Call a Bike in Berlin

Berlin's bicycle hire system, Call a Bike, is run by the Deutsche Bahn.

BikeSurfBerlin is a bicycle sharing project, where you can borrow bikes for free, or on donation basis.[6]

References

  1. "Platz da! – für die Radfahrer". ND. Retrieved 22 March 2011. 
  2. "Bike City Berlin". Treehugger. Retrieved 19 August 2008. 
  3. "Bicycle Routes and Facilities Bicycle Paths". Senate Department of urban development. Retrieved 19 September 2008. 
  4. "Mit dem Fahrrad - In Bussen und Bahnen" [By Bicycle - In Buses and Trains] (in German). Senate Department of Urban Development. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
  5. http://www.s-bahn-berlin.de/lang/englisch/tickets-fares/tickets.html
  6. BikeSurfBerlin

External links

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