Cycling in Berlin
{{Short description|Transport by bicycle in Berlin, Germany}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/193840.platz-da-8211-fuer-die-radfahrer.html|title=Platz da! – für die Radfahrer|work=ND|accessdate=22 March 2011}} The city has a highly developed bicycling infrastructure and it is estimated that Berlin has 710 bicycles per 1000 residents.{{cite web|url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/bike_city_berli.php|title=Bike City Berlin|work=Treehugger|accessdate=19 August 2008}} Among cities with more than one million inhabitants Berlin is a metropolis with one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting in the world.
Bicycle network
Berliners have access to {{convert|620|km|abbr=on}} of bike paths including around {{convert|150|km|abbr=on}} mandatory bicycle paths, {{convert|190|km|abbr=on}} off-road bicycle routes, {{convert|60|km|abbr=on}} of bike lanes on the roads, {{convert|70|km|abbr=on}} of shared bus lanes open to cyclists, {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} of combined pedestrian/bike paths and {{convert|50|km|abbr=on}} of marked bike lanes on the sidewalks.{{cite web |url=http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/verkehr/radverkehrsanlagen/en/radwege.shtml |title=Bicycle Routes and Facilities Bicycle Paths |work=Senate Department of urban development |accessdate=19 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922140453/http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/verkehr/radverkehrsanlagen/en/radwege.shtml |archivedate=22 September 2008 }}
In addition to a variety of bike paths and bike lanes there are also {{lang|de|Fahrradstrassen}} ({{IPA|de|ˈfaːɐ̯ʁaːtˌʃtʁaːsn̩|lang|De-Fahrradstraßen.ogg}};{{Transliteration|de|bicycle streets}}) where bikes have priority and vehicles are limited to 30kmh.
Along the former path of the Berlin Wall there is now the {{lang|de|Berliner Mauerweg}}, the {{Transliteration|de|Berlin Wall Trail}}. It is a circular route, completed in 2006, and traces the former German Democratic Republic border fortifications that surrounded West Berlin.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150825-a-berlin-bike-ride-like-no-other|title=A Berlin ride like no other|work=BBC|accessdate=4 November 2016}}
= Long-distance routes =
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{{cite web | url = http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/verkehr/mobil/fahrrad/bus_bahn/ | title = Mit dem Fahrrad – In Bussen und Bahnen |trans-title=By Bicycle – In Buses and Trains | publisher = Senate Department of Urban Development | language = German | accessdate = 15 June 2010}} if a bike ticket is purchased.[http://www.s-bahn-berlin.de/lang/englisch/tickets-fares/tickets.html S-Bahn Tickets]
Bicycle hire system
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.[http://bikesurf.org BikeSurfBerlin]
=Velotaxi=
In the 1997, Berlin-made cycle rickshaws called velotaxis were created.{{cite web|url=http://www.treehugger.com/cars/cabs-for-the-carfree-city.html|title=Cabs for the Carfree City
|work=Christine Lepesto|accessdate=4 November 2016}} The tickets are about one half the cost of regular taxis. Velotaxis are three-wheeled vehicles with a "space-age lightweight plastic cab that is open on both sides", a space for a driver, and behind the driver, space for two passengers.{{cite book | title=The Bizarre and the Wondrous from the Land of the Rising Sun! | publisher=Cultural-Insight Books | author=Boye De Mente | year=2010 | isbn=978-1456424756 | editor=Demetra De Ment | pages=95–96 }} They have been invented by Ludger Matuszewski, the founder of "Velotaxi GmbH" company.
Velodrom
The Velodrom (Berlin) is an indoor track cycling arena. Holding up to 12,000 people, it was also Berlin's largest concert venue, until the opening of O2 World in 2008.
It is part of a larger complex, which includes a swimming pool as well, built in the course of the application of Berlin, for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/verkehr/mobil/fahrrad/radrouten/index_en.shtml Bicycle Routes and Facilities], (Senate of Berlin)
{{Cycling in different countries and cities}}