15-20 years ago riding a bike in Budapest meant you were a bohemian artist or a student. Many things have changed the number of bikers is increasing day-to-day and many events take place to promote and demonstrate the advantages of pedaling around the country. We can say with conviction that the hype surrounding biking all over Europe has finally arrived to Hungary as well.
In the last few years many researchers have tried to assess the Hungarian pedaling society. Most of them focus on the changes in the number of bike riders in cities and villages. A recent survey made by the Hungarian Bicycle Club claims that 47% of the entire Hungarian population over the age of 15 used bicycles for transportation in May, 2010. That means almost every second person rode that month! Interestingly, riding a bike is more common in the countryside than in Budapest: this proportion was only 18% in the capital, according to the survey. The main reason behind this phenomenon could be that a bicycle has always been a common means of transportation in smaller settlements and has not changed during the years, while in Budapest it has never been a wide-spread instrument of moving from A to B- at least not until the millenium.
Nowdays if you go around Budapest in the city center you’ll see many different types of bikers: businessmen in suits going to work, young guys doing tricks at Gödör or ladies leaving for their everyday shopping on bikes. The amount of bike users in Budapest is rising, no doubt. To measure that, an official counter was set up at the Astoria intersection in June. This machine was used to calculate the number of bikers that pass. At the end of an average day the display was around 1000 bikers. There are many movements (i.e. Critical Mass) demonstrating that there is a will to build up a biker community in Hungary.
According to another survey, the younger the respondent’s age, the more optimistic they are regarding the future of biking in Hungary. It seems promising for the youngsters. Promising because if this tendency does not stop, there will be an increasing number of people with positive attitudes among bikers. That assumes Hungary won't step away from the road that takes the country to being a bike-friendly home.
In the last few years many researchers have tried to assess the Hungarian pedaling society. Most of them focus on the changes in the number of bike riders in cities and villages. A recent survey made by the Hungarian Bicycle Club claims that 47% of the entire Hungarian population over the age of 15 used bicycles for transportation in May, 2010. That means almost every second person rode that month! Interestingly, riding a bike is more common in the countryside than in Budapest: this proportion was only 18% in the capital, according to the survey. The main reason behind this phenomenon could be that a bicycle has always been a common means of transportation in smaller settlements and has not changed during the years, while in Budapest it has never been a wide-spread instrument of moving from A to B- at least not until the millenium.
Nowdays if you go around Budapest in the city center you’ll see many different types of bikers: businessmen in suits going to work, young guys doing tricks at Gödör or ladies leaving for their everyday shopping on bikes. The amount of bike users in Budapest is rising, no doubt. To measure that, an official counter was set up at the Astoria intersection in June. This machine was used to calculate the number of bikers that pass. At the end of an average day the display was around 1000 bikers. There are many movements (i.e. Critical Mass) demonstrating that there is a will to build up a biker community in Hungary.
According to another survey, the younger the respondent’s age, the more optimistic they are regarding the future of biking in Hungary. It seems promising for the youngsters. Promising because if this tendency does not stop, there will be an increasing number of people with positive attitudes among bikers. That assumes Hungary won't step away from the road that takes the country to being a bike-friendly home.
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