ECF Members

Our members continue to have an instrumental role in advocating for more and better cycling, with considerable impact and important advocacy successes during the last year.

ADFC (German Cyclists' Association), ECF Member in Germany, has launched a massive RADvolution campaign calling for the modernisation of the road traffic law such that cycling is finally placed at the heart of transport policy, demanding equal rights for all road users, more space for cyclists, better cycle paths and safe roads for everyone. The campaign has seen widespread support, with an ADFC rally in Berlin attracting 50,000 cyclists from across Germany and a massive KidicalMass of 80,000 cyclists of all ages calling for RADvolution. ADFC also joined at the global climate strike “Fridays for Future – Germany” to highlight the importance of the bicycle in the sustainable transport transition required to meet climate targets. As a thank you to the cyclists who ride their bikes during the winter months, and in poor infrastructure conditions, ADFC distributed cinnamon biscuits to over 100 locations in Germany, once again highlighting the urgent need for change to improve conditions for year-round cycling.

In January 2023, Switzerland passed a landmark new cycle path law, a culmination of eight years of work by ECF Swiss member, Pro Velo Switzerland, and a referendum with a staggering 74% majority vote in favour. The Cycle Route Act obliges cantons and municipalities to plan and build cycle path networks for the first time, to do so within the next five years, and to complete their realisation by 2042. In addition, a specialist cycling centre must be devised and planning principles must be considered. Pro Velo Switzerland welcomes this milestone and is committed to supporting cantons and municipalities in the process.  

Similarly, ECF French member Fédération Française Des Usagers De La Bicyclette (FUB) succeeded in securing the inclusion of cycle networks and station parking in the law defining "metropolitan regional express services (SERM)". While the initial definition focused on the need for SERMs to be structured around rail services, thanks FUB’s efforts, "cycle networks" were included as an integral part of these projects. FUB also was quick to mobilise against the cycling ban in pedestrianised town centres by Nice, Agen and Lille, which received a great deal of media coverage. FUB was also busy this year with developing materials and publications such as lobbying guides for local groups, a white paper n cycling and public transport but also with developing inclusive approaches to attract new cycle userswith a focus on under-representation of women in cycling. A "cycling and gender equality" group was set up to work on promoting, supporting, raising awareness and taking action on governance. In March 2023 FUB held its 23^rd annual congress in Rennes, attracting close to 600 attendees and featuring participation by the French Minister of Transport.

For ECF UK member Cycling UK, 2023 has been all about pushing for increased investment in active travel across all four nations. Investment in Scotland is now at record levels, with Cycling UK continuing to push the Scottish Government to fulfil its commitment to spend 10% of the transport budget on active travel. Funding for cycling and walking also increased in Wales, with the Welsh Government introducing a default 20mph speed limit in built up areas in Wales, the most significant change to limit new road building in the UK for decades, and to prioritise wellbeing when making transport decisions.  Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, continuous pressure on the Department for Infrastructure has paid dividends, avoiding cuts to funded programmes and an increased awareness of importance of active travel. However, in England, political changes have led to a shift in attitude towards active travel, with drastic cuts in investment which Cycling UK is campaigning to reverse. Consequently, much of Cycling UK’s advocacy work is now focussed on the next UK election, likely to take place late 2024, and towards securing political will and commitments aligned to its manifesto. 

ECF Italian member FIAB has had a busy and successful year as well. From highly impactful events such as the 300 nation-wide Bimbimbici events promoting cycling for children, and its ComuniCiclabili project which attracted 179 municipalities representing 20% of Italy’s population for its sixth edition, to big wins thanks to years of advocacy, such as Trenitalia’s new train service with 900 cycle spaces daily, and Abruzzo becoming the longest 30 km/h city, after FIAB’s launch of its 30 km/h city campaign. FIAB has received a national award for sustainability in the mobility category, at the Ecomondo Fair. FIAB’s hard work continues, in particular on road safety appeals to national politicians, and on denouncing the cuts in cycling investment which had already been allocated for urban cycle paths and touristic routes. 

ECF Danish member, Danish Cyclists' Federation, together with the Danish Parliament’s Transport Committee, co-organised a cycling conference at the Danish National Parliament building – the first of its kind. The conference attracted significant political attention and brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, to discuss how to get more Danes cycle, with a view to reversing the downward trend in national cyclists numbers. Important campaigns by our member towards this goal also achieved record numbers in 2023; approximately 100,000 children cycled during September, for All Children Cycle, and over 50,000 people cycled during May for the annual Bike to Work campaign. The Norwegian Cyclists’ Association has appointed a new CEO and elected a new board of directors, who are tasked with implementing a bold strategy approved in October by the General Assembly. Our ECF Norwegian member was also part of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s production team during their slow TV programme called “Cycling Summer”. The show was filmed using “directing bikes” carrying cameras, people and technical equipment. 

ECF currently has 72 member organisations across more than 40 countries in Europe and beyond, welcoming three new associate members in 2023; L’Heureux Cyclage (France), Let’s bike it! (Russia) and BYCS (Netherlands). The ECF family came together once more for the ECF Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2023. ECF was very grateful to host Mr. Georges Gilkinet, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Mobility for a Keynote Speech. ECF Croatian member Sindikat Biciklista was announced as the host of next year’s meeting, to take place in Zagreb. 

Cities & Regions for Cyclists Network

Our Cities & Regions for Cyclists (CRC) Network welcomed ten new members this year; expanding the representation of local and regional administrations committed to cycling to well over 54 million citizens.  

Following years of investments in cycling and exemplary mobility management practices, Helsingborg (Sweden) was awarded as Sweden’s best city in cycling promotion for 2022 by Swedish ECF Member Cykelfrämjandet. Among the many measures and projects in place to encourage more cycling, the city has inaugurated a new bike parking facility, located beside the city’s central station to accommodate 540 bikes. Helsingborg has also received Cycling Infrastructure Award by ECF at Velo-city 2023 Leipzig for its Varvsbron Bridge, a landmark pedestrian and cycling bridge which connects the up-and-coming smart neighbourhood of Oceanhamnen with the city centre and a nearby public transport hub.  

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Germany) intends to play a pioneering role in the mobility transition, and has set ambitious mobility targets, in which the bicycle plays a key role, earmarking significant investments towards achieving them. The Senate of Hamburg has invested about €87 million in 2020 and about €91 million in 2021 for cycling infrastructure, services and communication. This translates to approximately €49 per capita per annum.

The Province of Groningen (Netherlands) is prioritising connectivity between its towns, villages and the city in an ambitious Mobility Strategy 2022-2034, which presents long-term policy objectives, including increasing the number of cyclists by 20% by 2027. The province is working on several projects to reach this goal including building more cycle highways, maintaining high quality cycling infrastructure, and much more.  VENECO (Belgium) is an intermunicipal partnership of 21 municipalities around Ghent which supports the development and implementation of local policy, as well as facilitates concrete projects. VENECO works in a vast range of policy areas including sustainable mobility. VENECO also takes an active role in the activities of the Ghent Transport Region. The Central Denmark Region (Denmark) has been long committed to developing high-quality cycling infrastructure in urban and rural areas. It is currently collaborating with 10 municipalities to connect cycle path networks into a 1000-kilometre network of cycle superhighways. The highway is to be connected with public transport to make cycling a party of everyday transportation.

Leipzig (Germany) has been very active this year, hosting both the record-breaking edition of Velo-city 2023 and this year’s CRC Network Day, the city is committed to leveraging cycling for its ongoing transformation in the coming years. Strovolos Municipality (Cyprus) is working towards the development of a new Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), together with five municipalities of the greater urban area of Nicosia District – including Nicosia Municipality, also a new member of our CRC Network - for a holistic plan of the entire urban agglomeration; the Nicosia SUMP. The new SUMP foresees the provision of safe walking and cycling infrastructure, to encourage active mobility for short to medium-length trips by upgrading and completing the cycling network. Also joining the CRC Network in 2023 are the cities of Tel Aviv-Yafo and Jerusalem (Israel).

Cycle-Friendly Employer Consortium

ECF’s Cycle-Friendly Employer (CFE) certification, currently implemented in 15 countries, is gaining momentum across the continent. The number of certified employers has almost doubled in the last year to well over 750 employers, while the number of employees at CFE Certified employers has surpassed 700,000.

The City of Essen (Germany) has been awarded the Cycle-Friendly Employer Award by ECF at Velo-city 2023 Leipzig. Since earning a Silver level CFE certification in 2019, the city was recertified with a Gold level CFE Certification in 2022, by CFE member in Germany ADFC. The city has been sponsoring other local CFE companies and joining forces with organisations and authorities to form a network of cycle-friendly employers. The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), has also renewed its certification in 2023, becoming the first EU institution to be awarded Gold level CFE Certification by CFE member in Belgium Fietsersbond. CFE member in Ireland, Cycling Solutions Ireland has awarded the Sustainable Energy Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland with Gold level CFE Certification, rewarding both for their ongoing commitments to workplace mobility and transport decarbonisation. Finally, FIAB, the CFE member in Italy, has awarded Gold level CFE Certification to Bologna airport and Poste Italiane.

Members of the CFE Consortium continue to promote behaviour change towards a modal shift across European workplaces, and achieve substantial recognition of the role of cycle-friendly employers by decision-makers on all levels.

How to become an ECF Member: https://ecf.com/who-we-are/how-become-ecf-member
How to join Cities & Regions for Cyclists Network: https://ecf.com/community/cities-and-regions-cyclists
How to implement the CFE Certification in your country: https://ecf.com/community/cycle-friendly-employers-consortium