During the Corona period, the use of bicycles and e-bikes in commuter, everyday and leisure traffic has increased significantly. Velosuisse sees good chances for a sustained trend - if the cycling infrastructure and legislation keeps pace, as can be observed abroad.
Encouraged by the continuing fine weather, Velosuisse members have registered an increased demand for vehicles and spare parts since the end of February, indicating that commuters have switched from public transport to bicycles to protect themselves against infection with the coronavirus. Then came the lockdown. The workshops were declared systemically relevant by the Federal Council and were allowed to remain open to ensure people's mobility. Meanwhile, people were encouraged to stay at home and, whenever possible, to work and school in their home office. This did not have a negative impact on the use of bicycles. People continued to swing onto their saddles to run errands and to get some exercise in the fresh air. This was also shown by the mobility study conducted by ETH Zurich, which registered a large increase in bicycle use.
Lien vers l'étude de l'ETH : https://ivtmobis.ethz.ch/mobis/covid19/reports/latest_de
The increased use of bicycles had different effects on the bicycle industry: Repairs were even more in demand during the already heavily burdened spring period. Several importers saw significant increases in sales of spare parts and consumables such as tyres, tubes, brake pads, chains, sprockets, cables and various bearings. Here, the average sales growth compared to the same period in 2019 is +15 to +25 percent. It is noticeable that the 26 inch tyre size was again increasingly in demand. This indicates that older mountain bikes and everyday bikes have been made roadworthy again.
Since the sale of new vehicles was only indirectly permitted in the bicycle shops until 11 May due to the officially decreed closure of the sales areas, which meant significantly more administrative work, sales figures are currently still about 20 percent behind those of the previous year. However, Velosuisse members are confident that the shortfall can still be made up. This is because bicycle and e-bike purchases have not been cancelled, but in most cases have only been postponed.
The industry is optimistic
L'industrie est optimiste quant à la poursuite de la course aux vélos et aux vélos électriques après la crise de Corona. Beaucoup d'autres ont redécouvert l'efficacité et la sensation libératrice du vélo. La place dans les villes ne sera plus la même à l'avenir et avec les voitures électriques. Le vélo restera donc le premier choix comme moyen de transport le plus rapide pour aller de porte en porte. Il serait maintenant important d'adapter l'infrastructure en conséquence. Des études ont montré qu'une infrastructure de transport dangereuse décourage l'usage du vélo. Velosuisse fonde donc de grands espoirs sur la nouvelle loi sur les véloroutes, qui est actuellement en consultation.
What a climate-friendly and sustainable transport policy can achieve is currently demonstrated by the dynamic development of cycling infrastructure abroad, where pop-up cycle lanes (roads that are provisionally converted into cycle paths) are being created in many places. In many cities such as Milan, Vienna, Paris, New York, Brussels, Mexico City and Bogotá, many new cycle lanes have already been created at the expense of car lanes on main roads and boulevards. Berlin has even eliminated entire parking zones for temporary bicycle lanes.
Germany, which is considered a car country, is particularly receptive to bicycle traffic and on 28 April it introduced a new road traffic regulation which also serves as a model for Switzerland. Not with a deterrent obligation to wear a bicycle helmet, but with sensible protection for the weakest road users at the legal level: a minimum overtaking distance for motor vehicles when overtaking pedestrians and cyclists, a general ban on multi-lane motor vehicles stopping on cycle lanes, slower right-hand turns for trucks in urban areas, cycle lanes, additional cycle zones, liberalisation of passenger transport by bicycle, simplification of the use of bicycles and more will create new incentives for cycling.
Link to the new road traffic regulations in Germany: https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Artikel/K/stvo-novelle-sachinformationen.html