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    How bike-friendly is Paris?

    Sophia Willmes
    Sophia Willmes
    Mar 4, 2024 6 min
    How bike-friendly is Paris?

    How bike-friendly is the French metropolis?

    buycycle WatchBlog: In this new series, every few months we take a look at developments in the bicycle industry and cycling culture: from spinning to copenhagenizing - we'll introduce you to all the trends and innovations. Today: Paris wants to become the cycling city of the future. Find out how exactly this is going to happen and where the city stands today in this WatchBlog.

    Paris is the city of love and lights, and if Mayor Anne Hidalgo has her way, the French capital should also become the city of bicycles.

    1. From asphalt hell to green bicycle city

    For all those who have ever been brave enough to fight their way from A to B by bike in Paris, this may sound like a bad joke at first. For a long time, Paris was an asphalt hell for vulnerable traffic members; anyone traveling by bike had to be content with the "death lanes" of the buses and hope for the best.

    But a lot has happened recently, and Paris is slowly but surely becoming a vibrant heart of the cycling culture. This is not only because of the annual Tour de France finale on the Champs-Élysées, which, by the way, becomes a car-free zone as part of the program "Paris Respire" (Paris breathes), together with the Canal St. Martin and a few other main arteries on holidays and the first Sunday of the month.

    2. First progress

    Parisian politicians have stepped on the gas: Almost everywhere in the city, drivers are subject to a 30 km/h speed limit, and the right bank of the Seine has been completely closed to motor traffic since 2017 and has been used by walkers, strollers and cyclists.

    The city has learned a lot from the pandemic: on Rue Rivoli, which runs through important parts of the center, two-thirds of the lanes have been dedicated exclusively to cyclists. An initially temporary measure against smog in the traffic-calmed city during the lockdown phases, it was eventually retained.

    But it doesn't stop there... In recent years, over 1,000 km of bike lanes have been built in the city, mostly separated from car lanes by asphalt thresholds or (admittedly rather ugly) yellow bollards, and the Vélib bikesharing network has thoroughly permeated the cityscape. Parisians can rent and return bikes at any time at more than 1,800 stations, only 300m apart on average. Both normal and e-bikes are available. What is particularly ingenious about Vélib, however, is that the subscription costs a.) only a few euros per month and b.) can be loaded onto the Paris metro card.

    Thanks to Vélib, you can access the city's entire public transport system with just one card, and all routes can be covered quickly and easily by bus, train and bike .

    You can see right away that this works. The fleet's green and blue bikes race through town everywhere, and even if they are admittedly not always perfectly maintained, and the motor on the e-bikes is a bit sluggish, they have become an incredibly uncomplicated and natural means of transport for the Parisians.

    But even those who prefer to ride their bike are actively encouraged to cycle: the city grants a subsidy of up to 100 euros for purchasing a mechanical bike and between 500 and 600 euros for e-bikes. Employers often cover the costs completely.

    3. Parisians cycle

    Oh yes. After the first lockdown, the number of cyclists had increased by 67% compared to 2019, and in the following year, this number increased again by 78%. Paris has also become the capital of "vélotaf," according to data from Strava: Nowhere else in France do people cycle to and from work so often. It's no coincidence that the bicycle has become the nation's best-selling mode of transport. At 43%, it leads the list long before electric scooters (26.5%) and cars (26%).

    Paris is the city in the world where bicycle mobility has increased the most in recent years.

    So yes, Parisians cycle, but despite the growing infrastructure designed especially for them, the number of accidents is increasing. This is not only due to the increasing number of cyclists but, above all, their driving behavior.

    Even if cycling has become easier and more attractive - it is still a test for the nerves.

    The people of Paris have little regard for the "code de la route," the traffic regulations. At breathtaking speed, they meander past pedestrians and between cars en masse, run every red light, and consider crosswalks urban decoration. So the city is trying to get tougher and tougher, increasing traffic controls and, for some years now, banning headphones on bikes to increase attention in traffic.

    4. Le Plan Vélo: A 100% cycable city by 2026.

    Anne Hidalgo remains ambitious in her mission to make Paris a green city of the future. By the time of the Olympic Games in the summer of 2024, the city will have 55 km of bike paths connecting all Olympic sites. The Vélib fleet will be increased by 3000 bikes, and the car-free zones will be expanded. For the "plan vélo 2021-2026," the city is spending 250 million euros to become 100% bike-friendly by 2026.

    An ambitious undertaking and expensive undertaking, but the efforts made so far are already rewarding.

    Copenhagen is still the most bike-friendly city in the world. But Paris shows innovative and bold solutions and opportunities for transformation in one of the world's largest and most congested urban centers, and can thus become an important role model for many other cities.

    Whether you're in Copenhagen, Freiburg, Paris, or a not-so-bike-friendly city, use this article as an incentive to get on your bike - because a city can only be a bicycle city if we make it one. So get on your bike and if you're still looking for one that suits you, then take a look on buycycle. If you still have questions about Parisian bike policies or bicycles in general, you can find help on our blog or contact our support. Until then, we wish you: Happy browsing, happy cycling!

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