Tag Archive: Netherlands

  1. Research on the use of LEVs on cycle paths

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    Source: Bike Magazin, BUas Image source: Marek Lumi, Unsplash

    A recent study from the Netherlands examines the opportunities and risks of light electric vehicles (LEVs) of varying speeds and sizes using the same shared infrastructure, particularly on narrow paths. Differing national policies also have an influence.

    As part of the LEVERAGE project, run by Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) and partners, almost 2,000 people in the Netherlands were surveyed regarding LEVs, and a summary of the findings has been published.

    The study explores both the positive and negative aspects of increased LEV uptake.

    On the positive side, a quarter of those surveyed – both in suburban and rural areas – are considering acquiring a small LEV soon, and three-quarters expect to drive their car less as a result. This suggests that LEVs can be effective in extending cycling-based mobility beyond the usual scope of conventional bikes, and so contribute to decarbonisation of the wider mobility system.

    On the negative side, the increasing use of LEVs including e-scooters, e-cargo bikes and fatbikes, on the same narrow cycle paths used by conventional bikes has coincided with an increase in cycling accidents. The LEVERAGE study refers to safety research which used eye-tracking, skin-conductance sensors and surveys with cyclists; the researchers found that legal LEVs draw more visual attention than traditional bikes. Crucially, this does not translate into measurable stress or unsafety, provided LEV users behave in a predictable manner, and adhere to legal speed limits.

    Behaviour and infrastructure

    Paul van de Coevering, professor of Urban Mobility Planning at BUas, stated, “It is not the vehicle itself that creates danger, it is how it’s used.”

    It was found that participants in the safety research, who previously had negative attitudes towards LEVs, reported no unsafe experiences when encountering them being ridden in a calm manner.

    Infrastructure also is important, with separated cycle paths consistently leading to higher feelings of safety.

    National policy and infrastructure differences

    German publication Bike Magazin has explored the differing situations in the Netherlands and Germany regarding the use of LEVs in specific situations. In the Netherlands, a distinction is made between dedicated cycle paths (Fietspad) and combined cycle and moped paths (Fiets/bromfietspad).

    Regulation-compliant LEVs including cargo bikes and fatbikes with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h are permitted to use either type of cycle path. On the combined cycle and moped routes, faster vehicles including speed pedelecs and mopeds with maximum assisted speed of up to 45 km/h are also permitted.

    In Germany, however, the faster LEVs must travel on the main roadway alongside motor vehicles.

    E-scooters also are treated differently in the two countries. Bike Magazin states, “Germany allows registered pedal-assisted scooter-style models (not sit-on e-scooters) to be ridden on cycle paths. In the Netherlands, e-scooters without pedal assistance are only permitted on public roads if the specific model is approved. Many of the models on offer do not meet this requirement.”

    The Dutch approach of combined cycle and moped lanes has potential for effectively reducing car traffic, states Bike Magazin, though the relative shortage of even standard separated cycle lanes in Germany is highlighted. A serious infrastructure investment would be required.

  2. Netherlands fatbike study explores real-world use

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    Sources: Science Direct, Urban Cycling Institute Image credit: Nick van der Vegt, Unsplash

    In the Netherlands, some cities have banned the fatbike, citing safety concerns as the reason. A new study has published findings on the fatbike’s use, highlighting how it is beneficial to society and doesn’t deserve its negative perception.

    The study, titled “Banned, blamed, but beneficial: The fatbike as a critical but contested enabler of accessibility, affordability, and autonomy”, was the result of work by researchers from the University of Amsterdam, Ghent University and the Urban Cycling Institute.

    They conducted a qualitative and ethnographic approach, which included intercept and in-depth interviews in Amsterdam to examine how the fatbike operates as a symbol of social belonging, and as a facilitator of accessibility.

    The study has uncovered findings which double down on the fatbike as being a key enabler of improving mobility accessibility, affordability and autonomy:

    • Negative perceptions commonly paint fatbike riders as anti-social youth. The study highlights that only 30% of fatbike riders are of this age group.
    • After observing 7,000+ bike riders, the researchers saw 0 incidents, in contrast to popular perception of reckless riding, which fatbikes have been described as commonly being used for.
    • Over 90% of riders interviewed hadn’t owned a bike before, with most relying on the fatbike for accessibility to work, school and opportunity, due to their residential areas bring underserved by, or having expensive, public transport.

    The study raises the concern that restrictive bans on fatbikes could make mobility poverty worse and undermine city equity and accessibility targets.

    The full study can be accessed here.

  3. E-bike use rising sharply in the Netherlands’ younger demographics

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    Source: Fietsberaad

    The latest research from the Netherlands has shown that from 2021 to 2025, the percentage of young riders (aged 12-17) riding e-bikes has risen from 11-29%, and young adults (aged 18-24) has increased from 8-27%.

    The findings from RIVM also reveal that, generally, e-bike usage in the Netherlands from riders aged 12 and above rose from 29-43% over that period.

    Motivations for e-bike usage

    It has been reported that younger people use e-bikes primarily because they are faster, as they use them to travel to school or visit shops or friends. For trips shorter than 5 kilometres, they often still favour a regular bicycle.

    For older riders aged 55 and over, they use e-bikes because they find them easier to ride and enable them to cover longer distances. They use this mode of transportation mainly for recreational rides.

  4. Netherlands municipality trials 20 km/h cycle lane speed limit

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    Source: The Guardian, Dutch News Image source: Fer Troulik, Unsplash

    A short-term trial in the Dutch municipality of Houten, near Utrecht, has been implemented to test out the practicalities of introducing 20 km/h speed limits for cycle lanes, in an effort to deal with rising congestion and a broader mix of vehicle types using cycle lanes.

    The two-week trial is taking place on Fossa Iberica in Houten, a 130-metre road that is en-route to the town’s rail station and a school, includes a low-visibility crossroads, and sees 4,000 users a day, with rush hour particularly busy. Cameras have been installed to measure the normal situation on the road, and speed limit signs have also been installed.  The cameras will not be used for enforcement, as cycles do not have license plates; however a research team will analyse the footage in due course.

    Houten’s transport chief, Wouter van den Berg, spoke about the reasons that Houten volunteered to host the trial. “Traffic safety is ever more important because more and more different types of road users are on the bike paths. Speed pedelecs, fat bikes, racers, golf carts with children in them – you name it. So when the government suggested this pilot, Houten stuck up its hand.”

    He also spoke about the issues of adjusting cycling infrastructure in the urban environment, with specific reference to the trial street, which can be viewed on Google Maps here. “It all starts with how you organise public space, the roads and the streets – especially in new developments – so that the slowest traffic gets priority. But here, you can’t widen the cycle lane, otherwise you’d be in people’s living rooms.”

    Is speed the issue?

    A variety of opinions have been voiced about the thinking behind the trial scheme. Local people spoke to current affairs programme Een Vandaag, with some highlighting that riders of standard bikes are unlikely to know their exact speed, while one woman commented, “This is all about cyclists on motorised bicycles, so I should think you would do something about motorised cyclists. Make a rule for them and not for all cyclists.” JanPeter Westein of the local cyclists’ association, Fietsersbond Houten, said that the group is happy to see its concerns being taken seriously, stating that he tends to avoid busy times, and highlighted a key use of the town’s cycle network: “Pretty much all of the primary schools in Houten are on the bike paths … and you don’t want parents to say they will take their children by car because it’s not safe.”

    Kees Bakker, policy officer and consumer advisor of the national cyclists’ union, Fiestersbond, looked at the 20 km/h speed limit topic in detail ahead of the trial. He asked, “What problem does this solve?”, concluding that many cycle paths are too narrow for the current volume of traffic – and that speed limits will not address that. He also explores the often-made point that e-bikes can go faster, sharing insights that standard e-bikes only have an average cruising speed of 22.6 km/h, compared to 19.6 km/h on a traditional bike. Illegally souped-up e-bikes are, he acknowledges, sometimes a problem – but as they are illegal, he argues that enforcement against illegal use is the answer.

  5. Netherlands’ national dataset on bikeability reveals evidence that e-bikes enhance accessibility

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    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.

  6. Speeds on Netherlands’ 30 km/h roads still too high, SWOV states

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    Source: CROW Fietsberaad Image source: Pourya Gohari, Unsplash

    Research by SWOV, the Netherlands’ Institute for Road Safety Research, has found that there is speeding on a large scale by motorists on roads where the speed limit has been reduced from 50 to 30 km/h. In cases where the road layout has been modified, speeds are lower.

    The SWOV study analyses speed behaviour on regional access roads with a speed limit of 30 km/h (GOW30), which were introduced in 2020. These roads were designed to address the mismatch between the traffic function of certain roads and the existing 50 km/h speed limit, which was considered neither safe nor appropriate. Data was gathered at 54 GOW30 locations using Floating Car Data from TomTom Move.

    Average speed findings

    Results showed an average speed of 35.3 km/h, while an upper speed of 43.5 km/h was not exceeded by 85% of motorists. Roads which included features such as median strips (central reservations), parking facilities, and/or an open or semi-open surface seemed to result in lower speeds.

    The effects of redesign

    Taken on average, the speed reduction on the 54 roads in the sample was an average of 4 km/h following the introduction of a lower speed limit. However the speed-reduction effect is noticeably greater where there had been a redesign of the road layout as well as a reduction in the speed limit. 22 of the locations in the sample had not been redesigned, and saw a speed reduction of 2 km/h. The 32 redesigned locations saw a reduction of approximately 5.5 km/h.

    Redesign methods included the replacement of a closed surface (asphalt) with an open surface such as paving stones, and the construction of raised intersection platforms. An open surface sees a speed decrease of approximately 4 km/h, and raised intersection platforms approximately 3.5 km/h. If combined, the measures result in a reduction of 9.5 km/h.

    Assessing the results

    SWOV has compared the findings with its guidance on the provisional design characteristics for GOW30 roads, finding that the positive effects of the open paving and raised intersection platforms aligned with recommendations. SWOV says that additional research is required to ascertain other guidance elements, such as centre markings and the physical separation of driving directions and parking facilities.

    SWOV plans in 2026 to conduct a road image study, focusing on the influence of design characteristics on speed behaviour.

  7. More accidents on Netherlands cycle paths with a lower width label

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    Source: CROW-Fietsberaad, Verkeerskunde

    The Netherlands has a system in place which categorises the width of cycle paths, from sufficient width in relation to traffic volume, through to substandard and too narrow. Recent analysis has explored national cycling volume data and accident data, drawing parallels between cycle path width and numbers of cycling accidents.

    A notable statistic is that over 80% of seriously injured cyclists are injured in accidents that do not involve a motor vehicle, and that single-bicycle accidents are particularly common. Traffic engineers’ platform Verkeerskunde highlights that this is precisely the type of accident in which infrastructure – and specifically cycle path width – may play an important role.

    CROW-Fietsberaad, the Dutch government’s knowledge centre for cycling policy, and consultancy firm DTV investigated the occurrence of accidents in conjunction with data on cycling volume and the system of cycle path width labelling. The labels range from A and B, representing sufficient path width in relation to cycling volume, usage and the mix of cyclists, through to C to F, which indicate widths from substandard to severely too narrow.

    Data on the location of single-bicycle accidents comes from the Database of Registered Accidents in the Netherlands (BRON). To account for the fact that the database does not include many accidents which have not been officially registered by the police, the data has been supplemented with details from a panel survey of self-reported bicycle accidents.

    Data on cycling volume and width labels was taken from the National Road Traffic Safety Data Portal, which provides figures on both peak-hour and raw 24-hour cyclist volumes. The analysis included all inner-city segregated cycle paths longer than 10 metres.

    The study demonstrates that cycle paths which are too narrow for the volume of traffic experience significantly more accidents. The combination of data sources used in the study represents an important step in developing bicycle safety policy, with the width labels proving useful as Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) and enabling the identification of high-risk locations. This gives road authorities the necessary information for effectively determining where the widening or modification of cycle paths will yield the greatest safety gains.

  8. More work needed to improve LEVs as a viable car replacement option

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    Source: LEVERAGE

    As part of the LEVERAGE project, Breda University of Applied Sciences, HAN University of Applied Sciences, and Eindhoven University of Technology have surveyed 2,000 residents in the Dutch regions of North Brabant and Arnhem-Nijmegen on mobility perspectives and habits, such as their consideration of light electric vehicles as a sustainable transportation alternative to the car. The results indicate that although LEVs are being considered more as a viable replacement, policy involvement is recommended to encourage more usage.

    E-bikes and other light electric vehicles can help users travel more sustainably; however, from their findings, LEVERAGE researchers have concluded that their impact on car use and ownership remains limited.

    Adoption is larger for e-bikes than for other LEVs

    From the survey participants, 44% of households reported ownership of at least one e-bike. In regards to modes such as e-scooters, e-steps, and e-microcars, these are used much less, with only 4% of residents using them frequently. Car ownership still accounts for the majority of households, with 81%, making it the most dominant mode of transport by far.

    Encouraging effects of LEVs on car usage

    For frequent LEV and e-bike users, approximately half of them have decreased their car usage, with 9% and 14% of them respectively having fewer cars in their household.

    Micro-electros are being viewed more frequently as a direct replacement for the standard car; from users of these vehicles, 43% are thinking about owning fewer cars.

    Positive and negative drivers of LEV selection

    From the survey, the main reasons for choosing light electric vehicles are: environmental benefits, enjoyment, and comfort. The primary barriers to choosing the sustainable transportation modes are: cost, bad weather conditions, and safety concerns about other road users. Social acceptance has also been highlighted as playing a role, with the e-microcar scoring low on awareness and social support.

    Nearly a quarter of surveyed respondents have indicated that they would like to use small LEVs in the future.

    Interest for LEV usage is not only in city areas, but also in less urbanised settings.

    Policy encouragement needed

    Participants have shown broad support for measures tackling nuisance and traffic safety, like fat bike regulation, for example, which has received 84 to 92% support.

    Directive policies, which include higher parking fees or having fewer parking spaces, were met with resistance.

    Methods considered the most effective included investment in charging infrastructure, parking facilities, and improving public transportation connections.

    Conclusion

    The LEVERAGE researchers state that LEVs need to be included in a broader mobility policy alongside good public transport and cycling infrastructure that is high-quality.

    The full research report can be accessed online in Dutch.

  9. Light electric vehicles viewed as promising options when circumstances change

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    Source: LEVERAGE

    Eindhoven University of Technology’s survey of 1,000 employed adults has revealed that when new job or relocation opportunities arise, more potential opens up for evaluating and switching commuting travel modes to LEVs such as e-bikes and e-scooters, especially for short distances.

    Researcher Valeria Caiati from Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) said that reconsideration of commuting options can be influenced by lifestyle changes of relocation or a new job.

    “People hold very tightly to their habits, as our research shows. Moving or starting a new job disrupts the routine. That makes it a good time to interest people in alternative travel habits.”

    Surveyed Dutch adults were asked about how they would commute to work from two potential scenarios:

    • If they retained their current home and job
    • Or if they relocated and changed employment

    The options listed for both scenarios are: car, public transportation, walking, bicycle, e-bike or e-scooter, or an electric micro-car.

    Respondents were also asked if they would consider buying a light electric vehicle (LEV), such as an e-bike or a microcar, and how much they would be prepared to pay for it.

    A new routine can encourage change in travel habits

    The study emphasises that people stick to their travel habits unless there’s an opportunity to change, such as a relocation or a job offer, which impacts commuting routines, with travel time and distance being the most influential factors in evaluating transport mode preferences.

    • For short distances, Walking, cycling, e-bikes, and e-scooters are favoured more.
    • For medium distances, the car is the preferred commuting option.
    • For longer distances, commuters prefer to take the train.

    Two- vs four-wheelers

    Transport modes with two wheels, such as electric bikes and scooters, are viewed as relatively popular. From the survey responses, the researchers concluded that they are often viewed as an improved version of the standard non-electric bicycle in the Netherlands, with respondents willing to pay approximately €1,000-2,000.

    Meanwhile, there was found to be more hesitance to four-wheeled vehicles such as the microcar, with respondents being more reluctant to buy one, with them viewing it more as a small car, than as a comfortable e-bike. For those purchasing a microcar, they accept its highly perceived price, which typically costs €10,000.

    Policy timing

    The survey reveals this as a key factor, implying that municipalities could inform new residents about various transportation options to increase awareness about available commuting options in the area.

    Caiaiti explains: “Municipalities could send new residents a welcome package containing information on available local travel options and which option is most suitable for each commute. Employers could also play a role in this.”

    Parking and commuting

    The study implies that the impact of paid parking can present opportunities for residents if municipalities and politicians communicate the benefits of giving up their parking spaces, such as initiatives that would help them live an easier and healthier lifestyle, for example.

    Caiati emphasises: ‘If you connect parking with, for example, more greenery, healthy living, and safe bike paths, more understanding and support will be generated. In co-creation with residents, it can then be examined which alternative modes of transport are attractive. Small pilots could be part of this. This makes it easier to investigate, together with residents, whether electric vehicles can be used for commuting.’