Cycling is the second-most common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips (urban and rural) nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%, and Zwolle 46%. This high frequency of bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ample bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter and more direct (and therefore usually quicker) than car routes.

In the countryside, an increasing number of routes link the Netherlands' villages, towns, and cities. Some of these paths are part of the Dutch National Cycle Network, a well-established system of specially designed routes for bicycle tourism that reaches every corner of the nation, or the newer numbered-node cycle network signage system which facilitates more personalised touring routes.

History

Cycling became popular in the Netherlands a little later than it did in the United States and Britain, which experienced their bike booms in the 1880s, but by the 1890s the Dutch were already building dedicated paths for cyclists. By 1911, the Dutch owned more bicycles per capita than any other country in Europe.

The ownership and use of bicycles continued to increase and in 1940 there were around four million bicycles in a population of eight million. Half of these bicycles disappeared during the German occupation, but after the war the use of bicycles quickly returned to normal and continued at a high level until 1960 (annual distance covered by bicycle for each inhabitant: 1500 km; 1000 miles). Then, much like it had in other developed nations, the privately owned motor car became more affordable and therefore more commonly in use and bicycles as a result less popular. That is: ownership still remained high, but use fell to around 800 km (500 miles) annually.Fietsverkeer in praktijk en beleid in de twintigste eeuw (A. De la Bruheze en F. Veraart) Ministry of Transport 1999 (p.50 table) Even so, the number of Dutch people cycling was very high compared to other European nations.

The trend away from the bicycle and towards motorised transport only began to decrease in the 1970s when Dutch people took to the streets to protest against the high number of child deaths on the roads: in some years over 500 children were killed in collisions with motor vehicles. This protest movement, initiated by Maartje van Putten (later a MEP), was known as the Stop de Kindermoord ("Stop the Child Murder"). The success of this movement—along with other factors, such as the oil shortages of 1973–74 and the publication of the CROW Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic—turned government policy around. The country began to restrict urban motor vehicle use and direct its focus on growth towards other forms of transport, with the bicycle perceived as critical in making streets safer and towns and cities more people-friendly and livable.

Overview

Besides the history and social movements, there is no single reason as to why cycling remains so popular in the Netherlands: many bicycle friendly factors reinforce each other:

Geography, built environment and weather The Netherlands is a relatively densely populated and very flat country, which means that journey distances tend to be short, even between towns. (It can be very windy though.) The cool climate of the Netherlands means that one can cycle very short distances without breaking into a sweat. This means that people can cycle to work or school without having to shower or wash straight afterwards, as they more often might have to do in warm, hot or humid climates. Though likewise, chilly and cold weather may not be considered pleasant to cycle in compared to other cities Bike-friendly infrastructure There is a continuous network of cycle paths, clearly signposted, well maintained and well lit, with road/cycle path junctions that often give priority to cyclists. This makes cycling itself convenient, pleasant, and safe. There is also a good network of bicycle shops throughout the country. Bike-friendly public policy, planning and laws The needs of cyclists are taken into account in all stages of urban planning. Urban areas are frequently organised as woonerven (living streets), which prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over motorised traffic. The Netherlands employs a standards-based approach to road design, where conflicts between different modes of transport are eliminated wherever possible and reduced in severity as much as possible where elimination is not possible. The result of this is that cycling is made both objectively and subjectively safe. Towns have been designed with limited access by cars and limited (decreasing over time) car parking. The resulting heavy traffic and very limited car parking makes car use unattractive in towns. A form of strict liability has been law in the Netherlands since the early 1990s for bicycle-motor vehicle accidents. In a nutshell this means that, in a collision between a car and a cyclist, the driver's insurer is deemed to be liable to pay damages (n.b. motor vehicle insurance is mandatory in the Netherlands, while cyclist insurance is not) to the cyclist's property and their medical bills as long as 1) the cyclist did not intentionally crash into the motor vehicle, and 2) the cyclist was not in error in some way. If the cyclist was in error, as long as the collision was still unintentional, the motorist's insurance must still pay half of the damages—though this does not apply if the cyclist is under 14 years of age, in which case the motorist must pay full damages. If it can be proved that a cyclist intended to collide with the car, then the cyclist must pay the damages (or their parents in the case of a minor). No compulsory bicycle helmet laws. In the Netherlands, bicycle helmets are not commonly worn; they are mostly used by young children and the extremely few road cyclists and mountain bikers there who ride road bikes or mountain bikes. In fact, the Dutch Fietsersbond (Cyclists' Union) summarized existing evidence and concluded that, for normal, slow, everyday cycling a compulsory helmet law would have a negative impact on population health. Cycling and environmental sustainability Through higher use of bikes and lower usage of cars and public transportation, the Dutch lower their ecological footprint and help the environment. Bike usage significantly lowers fossil fuel consumption and energy per capita use, leading to less pollution and other environmental damage. Cycling culture Cycling is a symbol of Dutch culture. It has been considered a national symbol since 1920 and a very patriotic means of transportation since 1938. Bicycling is presented in Dutch qualities and civil virtues of independence, self-control, modesty and stability. Cycling has had a positive effect on tourism—people visit the Netherlands to experience its specific cycling culture. Health effects and the economics of cycling Cycling prevents about 6500 deaths each year, and Dutch people have half-a-year-longer life expectancy because of cycling. The health benefits correspond to more than 3% of the Dutch gross domestic product. It is confirmed that investments made in bicycle-promoting policies (e.g., improved bicycle infrastructure and facilities) will likely yield a high benefit-cost ratio in the long term. Very slow bicycles and equipment The long-standing bike culture has meant that most bicycles are slow, heavy utility bicycles rather than road and mountain bikes (though all types of bikes are to be seen, from road bikes, to recumbents, right through to velomobiles, though they are extremely rare—ridden by less than 1% of the Dutch population). The Dutch mainly choose to ride roadster bicycles, like the ubiquitous Omafiets, which are practical (for the Netherlands, due to its almost complete lack of hills and urban sprawl), low-maintenance and suited to load carrying, with mudguards and skirt-guards, and where the rider is seated in an up-right position, making for a comfortable (for very short distances of no more than 3–4 miles), very slow (between 8 and 15 mph), leisurely ride on flat terrain. Bicycle baskets, panniers and load-carrying trailers are common for carrying items to school or work or for carrying shopping items back home from the shops. Training The Dutch train their children to ride so they can confidently ride in the roads when they are around 12 years of age, just before they start secondary school. Only if they pass their traffic exam are they awarded their Verkeersdiploma (traffic certificate). This training is deemed necessary as 75% of secondary school students cycle to school, rising to 84% riding for those living within 5 km (3 miles) of school. Even for distances of or over, some 8% of secondary school children cycle in each direction to school, though this is mainly in rural areas where the closest secondary schools can be a fair distance away. (Some 49% of primary school children ride to school, but distances are shorter and adults often accompany the younger ones.) Dutch motorists are also trained for interaction with cyclists as part of their driver training when going for their driving licence. For example, trainee motorists are trained to check and re-check their right-hand side for cyclists before making a turn to the right.

These factors together far outweigh the negative factors of wet and windy weather, strong winds due to the flat terrain, and frequent bicycle thefts. Over a quarter of all journeys made in the Netherlands are by bicycle. Even the over 65 age group make nearly a quarter of their journeys by bicycle—though, among this age group, electric bikes are very popular. In some cities over half of all journeys are made by bicycle.

By 2012 cycling had grown tremendously in popularity. In Amsterdam alone, 490,000 cyclists took to the road to cycle 2 million kilometres (1 million miles) every day, according to its city council statistics. This has caused some problems as, despite 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) of bicycle paths, the country's 18 million bicycles (1.3 per citizen old enough to ride) sometimes clog Dutch cities' busiest streets. This is being addressed by building even more bike lanes to tackle a problem many other cities in the world would envy—that of bicycle traffic congestion. The Netherlands' busiest cycleway, Vredenburg in the city of Utrecht, sees some 32,000 cyclists on an average weekday, and up to 37,000 on peak days,The busiest cycleway in the Netherlands — Bicycle Dutch (archived) rivalling the numbers claimed for the busiest cycleway in the world in Copenhagen, Denmark.The busiest cycle street in the world – Norrebrogade Bridge in Copenhagen — A view from the cycle path (archived)

In 2011 cycling advocate David Hembrow argued that the Dutch make more cycle journeys between them than the American, British and Australian people added together, and with greater safety than cyclists in any of those countries.

In 2012, the Dutch Fietsersbond (Cyclists' Union) said that a quarter of all deadly crashes in the Netherlands involve cyclists. Research in 2013 showed that 60% of fatal cycling accidents took place at junctions and in two out of five of those accidents, cyclists were not given priority by the driver. From 2007 to 2012, the number of fatal accidents decreased in the Netherlands from 850 to 600, while the number of cycling fatalities remained roughly constant. In 2015, cycling deaths made up 30% of road deaths in the Netherlands, 185 out of 621.

Infrastructure