More and more municipalities want to invest in cycling promotion to get people out of cars. To promote cycling, more insight, applicable knowledge, and cooperation are needed. To make knowledge available in an innovative and practical manner for policymakers, Argaleo ‘Digitwin’: an online web environment where a digital copy of a city or region is created and subjected to various data analyses. “We are essentially a springboard. Data-driven cycling knowledge is still in its infancy”, according to Jeroen Steenbakkers, owner of Argaleo.
According to Steenbakkers, there are still too many local cycling studies and pilots, and every municipality would benefit from sharing knowledge and data with other municipalities. “The e-bike is an interesting means of transport. However, virtually no specific policy is yet being developed for e-bikes”, says Joost de Kruijf, researcher and initiator of the national Dutch Metropolitan Cycling Innovations (DMCI) program. He developed this program together with a group of ambitious authorities, because he believes that cycling also deserves a place in the Dutch Metropolitan Innovations ecosystem: a national public-private partnership focused on smart, sustainable urbanization and mobility throughout the Netherlands.
Wrong questions
The problem is that policymakers base much of their work on research conducted in previous years. The answers to key questions such as ‘Who actually cycles? In which regions are cycling movements growing fastest? What are potential bottlenecks?’ are often outdated. These are questions that should be at the beginning of an innovative cycling approach. And the most important question is: ‘What will cycling look like in 2040, and what can we do today?’
That is why the Dutch Metropolitan Cycling Innovations (DMCI) is working on real-time insights into cycling movements. This includes exploring modality, behavior, and accessibility, integrating data across different modes, leveraging real-time data, and learning from each other. Therefore, the Dutch Metropolitan Cycling Innovations (DMCI) regularly organizes knowledge sessions and brings together experts in cycling policy. This way, authorities can learn directly from each other and better prepare for the future.