Source: CROW Fietsberaad Image source: Eugenia Pan’kiv, Unsplash

The dataset, which indicates accessibility by bicycle to a range of destinations including work, education, healthcare, shopping, leisure and recreation, has been compiled by SmartwayZ.NL and Argaleo.

The bikeability concept indicates whether destinations can be accessed within a specific travel time and, if people want to, are able to cover the specified distance. The dataset presents a picture of opportunities for policy in the cycling field.

Mobility researcher at SmartwayZ.NL, Joost de Kruijf, describes the significance of the dataset in further detail:

“Travel time over distance. People measure their day in minutes. This score makes visible at the neighborhood level what that means for the mobility transition. And the pattern is not static: with every facility that closes and every new neighborhood that emerges, the boundary shifts. Only when you calculate per neighborhood does it become visible who is balancing on the edge.”

Data revealing e-bikes increase accessibility

At the national level, the dataset reveals that 86% of the Dutch population can reach the supermarket, doctors and primary school within 5 minutes by bike, however for 2.8 million citizens, one of the facilities is considerably further to travel.

In regards to e-bike usage increasing accessibility, of the 341,000 people who would normally take over 15 minutes to reach somewhere on a conventional bicycle, 62% manage to arrive at that destination within 15 minutes on an e-bike.

For the example, in the region of Bergen, the weighted average time to the supermarket by a conventional, non-electric bicycle is almost 14 minutes; with an e-bike the time is decreased to 11 minutes.

The dataset indicates a similar pattern in other Dutch regions such as Hilvarenbeek, parts of Schouwen-Duiveland, Borsele, and Sluis.

Implications of these cyclability findings show that in scenarios such as an aging population that has declining car options, the electric bicycle can be seen as a viable transport link to daily life.