Biking is fun and healthy all year round. However, during the winter months people in the Netherlands cycle approximately twice as much as people in Germany. Why do we we rarely get on our bikes in the winter?

By Mathias Martin

A cold and damp morning in December, it is still dark outside. The bike path along Dürener Straße in Cologne is narrow and it is hard to see where it ends and the sidewalk begins. In the dark, pedestrians who suddenly cross the bike path are difficult to discern. Even worse are cars that come shooting out of side streets and cross the bike path with no attention to cyclists. Anyone who has ever ridden a bike in Cologne in winter has probably experienced this kind of situations – and may then quit biking in the wintertime.

The permanent counting stations the City uses to track the number of cyclists per day at 17 locations underscore that people in Cologne cyle less in winter than in summer. At all locations, with the exception of Universitätsstraße, there are significantly fewer cyclists on the road during the cold months. The station on Venloer Straße, for example, counted a total of more than 187,000 passing cyclists in June 2022, while in December 2022 there were only 122,000 counts.

Dr Ansgar Hudde of the Institute for Sociology and Social Psychology is a bike enthusiast – even in Cologne. “No other means of transport is nearly as flexible, cheap and fast in the city. And it’s healthy, you get to see your surroundings and it’s fun too,” the mobility scientist said. For a comparative bicycle study, Hudde brought together representative statistical data on mobility in Germany and in the Netherlands and used data from 335,000 trips made by a total of 98,000 people from 263 medium and large cities. He then correlated these mobility data with city-specific climate data and analysed the result.

His findings show that in the summer months from June to August, 16.7 percent of all trips in German cities are made by bicycle. On the other hand, only 10.3 percent of all trips are made by bicycle in the winter months from December to February. “If the temperature drops below 15 degrees, people in Germany cycle less,” Hudde remarked. He rides his bike year-round. When he gets cold, he simply pedals faster. Heavy rain is his only reason for switching to public transport or car sharing.

Different priorities in transportation planning

It is striking that the seasonal differences in bicycle use are not as significant in the Netherlands as in Germany. Bicycles are generally used more frequently there. In summer, 23.0 percent of all trips in Dutch cities are made by bicycle. However, even in the winter months, Dutch people still use bicycles for 20.5 percent of their journeys. That is two out of ten trips, so twice as often as their German neighbours, who cycle only one out of ten trips at this time of year.

Why are the Dutch more likely to ride on two wheels in winter than Germans? The wather cannot explain the difference, since the climate conditions for cycling in the Netherlands and Germany are similar. “The joint analysis of behavioural and climate data shows: We in Germany are more sensitive to cold and darkness. The fact that the Dutch tend to cycle all year round and Germans only do so in the summer has little to do with the different climate, but rather with different mobility cultures”, Dr Hudde explained.

There is a cycling culture in Germany, he believes, that reflects and encourages such seasonal patterns. This is also illustrated for example by the German term ‘Fahrradsaison’, which translates to ‘cycling season’ and indicates that there is a season in which bike-riding is appropriate. But it also means that there is a season where one does not cycle. “Even biking events like ‘cycling in the city’ or ‘cycling to work’ only take place in the summer,” Hudde continued. “They send out a signal that cycling is for the summer and not for the winter.”

The mobility cultures of countries and cities is also reflected in the infrastructure for cycling. Countries and cities with different mobility cultures each set different priorities in urban planning and transport infrastructure. In cities, an infrastructure in favour of bicycle can help encourage people to use bicycles all year. This is only successful if people perceive the conditions for cycling in their urban environment not as obstacles or negative stress, but as supportive and thus feel safe. For cycling in winter, for example, it is important that cycle paths have good lighting, are quickly cleared of snow and gritted.

Reaping bicycles

The Netherlands has pursued an active bicycle policy since the 1980s and is now considered a bicycle paradise. In no other country in the world is the bicycle as present in everyday life as there. There are 23 million bicycles for 17.6 million people – there is a trend towards having a second bike. The environmental, social and health benefits of cycling are explained already in schools. That way, a cycling culture is instilled at a young age. Dutch cities show how a bicycle-friendly infrastructure can support the use of bicycles – according to the motto of Utrecht City Councilwoman Lot van Hooijdonk: “If you sow for bicycles, you will reap more bicycles.”

Planners want cycling to be comfortable, safe and fast for the Dutch. In practice, this means bicycle and car traffic are structurally separated. Along many streets there are spatially delimited, color-coded one-way or two-way bike lanes which are usually wide enough for two cyclists to ride comfortably side by side and allow safe overtaking. Longer distances can be covered by bicycle express lanes. Even bike paths heated by means of waste heat or geothermal energy are being tested in several cities. A system of junctions and standardized labelling makes it easy to find one’s way around the network of bike paths. There are numerous bicycle parking areas in the cities. The city of Utrecht has the world’s largest bicycle parking garage, which offers a total of about 12,600 parking spaces on three levels under the main train station.

According to Hudde, it would also make sense in Germany to increase bicycle use in winter, especially with a view to a sustainable transport policy. More people using their bikes in the fall and winter would reduce carbon dioxide and fine particle emissions and help to some extent to avoid traffic jams or congestion on public transport. If bike lanes were well used throughout the year, this could also help to increase support for the development of a bicycle-friendly infrastructure.

The sociologist sums up: “The examples from the Netherlands show how a culture of year-round cycling can be successfully promoted. In Germany, by contrast, there is still huge potential for a better traffic situation and more sustainability.”