Press release | 02.05.2024
World's largest (municipal) cycling campaign launched in Trier
City cycling invites municipalities to hop on their bicycles in supoprt of cycling promotion and climate action
Trier / Frankfurt am Main, 2 May 2024. This year's edition of Climate Alliance's successful City Cycling campaign was officially launched yesterday in front of the Porta Nigra in Trier (DE). Over 1 million people participated in the campaign last year. This year, local politicians and citizens can again rack up climate-friendly kilometres over a 21-day period through the end of September by hopping on their bicycles in support of cycling.
Michael Hauer, State Secretary in the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility, opened this year's campaign by saying that "the transport sector is lagging far behind when it comes to climate protection, yet a turnaround in mobility is more urgent than ever. This is important for the climate, for social participation and for everyone's health. After all, everyone benefits from more climate protection and cleaner air. Cycling as an important element of a sustainable transport transition also keeps us fit. City Cycling is a great way to get many people in politics, administration and the general public excited about cycling. That's why the Ministry of Climate Protection is once again supporting Rhineland-Palatinate municipalities with 100,000 euros to take part in city cycling this year."
In addition to the direct impact on the climate crisis, transport poses other challenges for cities in particular, such as noise and pollution. Trier's Lord Mayor Wolfram Leibe sees City Cycling as a building block for tackling these problems, declaring, "Anyone who switches to cycling for everyday mobility is not only promoting their own health, but also helping to improve the quality of life in a densely populated city. With this in mind, City Cycling is a really good way to get people excited about cycling year after year and I am delighted that this year's campaign is being launched here in Trier. It's a nice gift from Climate Alliance for our 30 years of membership".
Getting people on their bikes for 21 days is not enough. With its RADar! reporting platform, the campaign also supports local authorities in building well-developed infrastructure. "Whether in urban or rural areas, people want to be able to cycle to their destination quickly, safely and comfortably. Only then will they switch to bikes for everyday journeys. This is where the information gained from the population thanks to RADar! helps local authorities to expand the infrastructure so that it is easy for people to opt for this sustainable mode of transport," says Stefan Metzdorf, District Administrator for the district of Trier-Saarburg, which is again using RADar! this year
Last year, over 1.1 million people from 2,836 municipalities took part in the City Cycling campaign and covered almost 230 million kilometres by bike. Municipalities and cyclists worldwide can still register for City Cycling 2024 until September.
City Cycling is an international Climate Alliance campaign and is supported by partners Ortlieb, ABUS, ABUS, e-motion – Die e-Bike Experten, WERTGARANTIE, Busch + Müller, Schwalbe, WSM and Paul Lange & Co. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the campaign is supported by the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility and the ADFC Rhineland-Palatinate.
Further information
Contact
Sebastian Reisch
City Cycling Communications, Climate Alliance
+49 69 7171 39 -76 | s.reisch@climatealliance.org
CITY CYCLING
With its international City Cycling campaign, Climate Alliance invites all citizens and members of local parliaments to pedal and set an example for increased promotion of cycling. In teams, they are to collect as many bicycle kilometres as possible for their municipality on 21 consecutive days between May and September. The campaign aims to sensitise citizens to cycling in everyday life and to bring the issues of bicycle use and cycling planning more strongly into local parliaments. With the reporting platform RADar! and the project RiDE – Radverkehr in Deutschland (Cycling in Germany), which provides scientifically prepared cycling data to the participating municipalities, the campaign also includes two elements with which the cycling infrastructure can be improved in a very concrete way including the involvement of citizens. city-cycling.org
THE CLIMATE ALLIANCE
For over 30 years, Climate Alliance member municipalities have been acting in partnership with indigenous rainforest peoples for the benefit of the global climate. With nearly 2,000 members spread across more than 25 European countries, Climate Alliance is Europe's largest city network dedicated to comprehensive and equitable climate action. Recognising the impact our lifestyles can have on the world's most vulnerable people and places, Climate Alliance pairs local action with global responsibility. climatealliance.org
