Road Map Cycling Promotion: what can we learn from each other?
In recent years, Amsterdam has gained considerable experience with cycling promotion projects. The city now shares that experience by means of the Road map for a cycling promotion project. Main message: make a baseline measurement but also a ‘second measurement’, evaluate, and share experiences and conclusions with other cities.
Amsterdam does a lot to get people on the bike. From projects to learn citizens with a migration background how to ride a bike to projects that tempt motorists – commuters for example – to use the bike more often. But little is known yet about the success of these projects. They have been monitored, but only limited research has been done. For instance, it is known how many people have learnt to ride a bike in a cycling promotion project for migrants (first measurement), but not how many people still ride a bike half a year later (second measurement). So monitoring and research are important if you want to know if and to what extent your project is successful.
Monitoring and sharing
A more systematic approach of cycling promotion projects may ascertain increasing effectivity. That’s why Amsterdam has made a Road Map Cycling Promotion for tackling each behavioural issue. A very useful checklist for anyone who’s starting a project to promote cycling. And an important start for getting an overview in a few years time of well-monitored projects of which it can be determined whether they are successful. The experiences and conclusions can be shared, so that other cities and organizations can benefit from it.
6 steps
The Road Map follows 6 steps, from selecting and specifying the target behaviour up to evaluating and reporting. After determining the desired behaviour, you research the behavioural determinants that are relevant for your target group, so you know how you can influence bicycle use. Step 3 is the selection of the appropriate behaviour change technique, after which you start designing (step 4) and executing (step 5) the intervention. Before the intervention, it is important to determine how you will measure effect and output, and who will be doing this. Otherwise the important sixth step, evaluating and reporting, can not be done properly. And that step is essential.
Learn from each other
Amsterdam Bike City is very curious about experiences and conclusions of other cities and countries. So please share your experiences and reports with us via the discussion below, or send them to bikecity@amsterdam.nl.
