- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the bicycle is increasingly present in the bidegorris of Paris. In times of increased traffic, in some of the most important streets of the capital there are more bicycles than cars, as you can see in the graphs of journalist Pierre Breteau in the newspaper Le Monde.
The upward trend started in 2019, with strikes in the public transport sector, and has continued in the years after confinement. "We knew the use of the bicycle went beyond fashion," said David Belliard. "Although time has worsened in recent weeks in Paris, the use of bidegorris has increased." The extension and safety of the bidegorris network has been crucial, as well as the provision of bicycle parking and other infrastructure. In fact, regardless of the means of transport, use increases when infrastructure is improved or new ones are created.
In times of increased traffic, roads saturate, but not bidegorris, although more bicycles circulate than cars, as the latter occupy less space. A bicycle needs about 1.5 square meters to transport one person, five times less than many cars (the best-selling SUV, the Peugeot 2008, needs 7.5 square meters). Cars on the streets of Paris have an average occupancy of 1.1 people.
The journalist collects several data in the report. For example, data from 2021 show that the most recent results have not yet been published, that 5.6% of trips are made by bike in Paris and 9% by car, when in 2001 it was around 50%.
>> More information on the subject in the October Larrun magazine: Sustainable mobility. Stripped in favor of another city model.