Beijing Ranks 38 Globally Among Top Cycling Cities

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Last week, the Global Bicycle Cities Index 2022 was released. This cycling-centric study, conducted by insurance company Luko (de.luko.eu), ranked 90 cities on a range of factors to determine which were the best for getting around on two wheels. Once hailed as the "Kingdom of Bicycles" in the 1980s and early 1990s, Beijing ranked a mediocre 38 on the list.

Although Beijing didn’t fare particularly well on the list, one Chinese city did. Hangzhou was ranked an impressive 7 in what was otherwise a completely European top 10. The 90 cities on the list were ranked on 16 different factors:

- Weather score
- Bicycle theft score
- Investment and infrastructure quality score
- Sharing score
- Bicycle usage
- Safety score
- Infrastructure score
- No car day?
- Fatalities/100k cyclists
- Number of bicycle shops/100k cyclists
- Number of bicycle sharing and rental stations/100k cyclists
- Critical mass score
- Accidents/100k cyclists
- Specialised roads and road quality score
- Number of shared bicycles/100k cyclists
- Event score

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Anyone who has had the experience of riding on Beijing’s rather chaotic roads full of waimai scooters, dodgy car maneuvers and clueless pedestrians probably won’t be too surprised at the capital's ranking. However, in recent years Beijing has been making concerted efforts to try and improve the cycling experience in the city and, according to a China Daily report (read via QR code below), cycling has become increasingly popular over the past two years.

According to Jing Lubo, an official in the urban road management office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, a number of new measures have been introduced to make Beijing more bicycle-friendly. Some examples of these measures include the widening of cycle lanes on the Second Ring Road from two meters to three meters, the introduction of 74 left-turn lanes for cyclists at intersections this year, and a ban on motorcycles in cycle lanes that was introduced May 9 last year.

In May 2019, Beijing’s first designated "cycling expressway" was opened, a 6.5km route that connects Huilongguan and Shangdi in Changping District. This yea,r the city is planning to open more cycling lanes as well as continuing to widen current ones in a move towards establishing a slow-travel network. These plans are part of a countrywide commitment to improving green production and lifestyle by 2035.

As someone who cycles to work every day in what can often, especially during peak times, be a nail-biting experience, I’m looking forward to seeing continued improvements in Beijing's cycling environment. Perhaps by 2035 Beijing will be up there in the top 10 Global Bicycle Cities Index alongside Hangzhou.

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Images: Statista, China Daily, Katie Coy, Lukocvc

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