Bike to work (out)

Do you need to go to the office every day? Do you wish you had more time to work out? Would you like to unwind after a stressful day at work? Just take your bike for your daily commute! It offers all these advantages and probably some more. No more colleagues that pester you to drop them off at the station, for instance...

Almost half of all car trips in cities are of less than five kilometres. Even at a leisurely pace, that's a perfect distance for cycling.

No excuse

Cycling in inclement weather can be disheartening, but it's actually quite doable if you put on weather-proof clothing (including waterproof overshoes). Cycling infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired in many places but authorities are investing heavily across Europe, building bicycle highways connecting cities. Geography and particularly relief is often quoted as a reason to prefer a car to a bicycle but even that's hardly an issue today as there's a plethora of electrically assisted bicycles to choose from.

Mobility actions

Here's a list of just some of the mobility actions to motivate people to choose active mobility during this year's European Mobility Week:

• The European Commission launched a campaign for its staff living less than 20 minutes walking/cycling from their offices in Brussels
• VIA University lets citizens of its area try an e-bike for a period of one week
• Love to Ride is a campaign to motivate cyclists and to win prizes or medals by commuting by bike.
• The Maia municipality in Portugal challenges its 1,000+ employees to commute by bike. A way to increase the use of cleaner and healthier transportation and to get fitter at the same time.
• The municipal library Octavian Paler in Fagaras, Romania, has its own Bike To Work campaign.
• Russia may not be a part of the EU but that doesn't mean it can't take part in the European Mobility Week. The Russian Ministry of Transport has a campaign to promote biking to work the year round.
• Taking your bike to go to work is great if you live close by but it gets more challenging if your commute is longer. That's why Telefonica employees in the Distrito T area of Madrid can take the train for the first leg of their journey and can take a bicycle at the railway station.
• Design Group Italia invited all its employees and collaborators to use the bicycle to go to work and the results were surprisingly positive.