Mobility in London: Bicycles in the Fast Lane
#nextvisions for Europe’s busiest city
Markus Herrmann, blogger and podcast host, is on a road trip to explore the mobility landscape of European cities. How are they tackling the new challenges coming with the growth of population? And can they manage to make cities more green and liveable? Let’s find out.
Even though Brexit is floating above everything and it feels like everything is standing still, we’re taking a closer look at the constant movement and developments in the largest metropolitan region in Europe: London.
Urban mobility is deeply rooted in London. So deep, in fact, it’s underground. In January 1863, the world’s first underground railway opened its doors: the London tube. It has since grown to encompass a length of 402 kilometers with 270 stations on 11 lines, making it the largest underground network outside of Asia. There’s a lot to discover in London — not only underground but also in the streets.
London is the capital of the United Kingdom. The current administrative area with a total of 33 boroughs was created in 1965 with the establishment of Greater London. Currently, approximately 8,9 million people live there, of which approximately 3,3 million live in the 13 city districts of Inner London. This makes London the most populous city in Europe. With about 14 million people in the London Metropolitan Area, it is also the largest metropolitan region in Europe, ahead of Paris.
Detailed information on London’s mobility in a worldwide comparison can be found in the Urban Mobility Index.
A new transportation strategy for London
A forward-looking transport strategy is at the heart of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s vision to create a city for all Londoners. The primary goal is that by 2041, 80 percent of all travel in London will be done on foot, by bicycle or by public transport. The City of London is planning a number of measures to make the city more attractive for pedestrians and to give bicycles a greater priority in the mobility mix. So-called cycleways crossing through the city are ultimately intended to ensure that London becomes one of the top cycling capitals in the world.
If you want to check out the wide cycle paths yourself, you can rent a bike from one of the numerous bike rental companies in the city. Santander Cycles bike-for-hire stations are dotted along the cycleways. The city’s public bike rental systems launched in 2010 and has now grown to over 11,500 bikes at around 750 stations. On average, more than three rides per bike are made on a normal weekday. Intended for use on short distances, the first 30 minutes are free for subscribers. These journeys account for 93 percent of total rides. Incidentally, the bikes are colloquially called “Boris Bikes”, which goes back to the mayor at the time the bike rental system was introduced — a certain Boris Johnson.
Electrifying London’s street
Following Oslo’s example, London also wants to increase its share of electric vehicles. In order to meet the requirements, more than 1,000 new charging stations were built recently throughout the city. In the course of the upgrade, even classic London landmarks were given an upgrade: among the world-famous black cabbies, there are now over 1,700 electric taxis. In addition, the London Transport already has the largest electric bus fleet in Europe.
Besides the station-based Santander Cycles, several companies also offer free-floating bikes for hire in London. These include YoBike, Mobike, LimeBike or Jump from Uber.
E-scooters in London have not yet been able to go beyond the testing phase in Olympic Park. In contrast to many other metropolises, they are currently still prohibited in the city.
No matter if you rent a bike or — in the future — an e-scooter, you should always take a moment to get used to left-hand traffic on the cycle paths.
London’s plan to go green
Since July 2019, London is officially allowed to call itself the world’s first National Park City. The award is based on the International Charter for National Park Cities (NPC). Behind the name stands a huge project that aims to make urban life so green that it is like a national park. Whether on roofs, balconies or gardens on traffic islands, the city should provide a home for more natural living space.
The population density of London is already enormously high. Added to this are the many animals that are at home in the city. Almost 15,000 animal species live in the metropolitan region, among them eight species of bats and hundreds of different kinds of birds. Additionally, there are almost as many trees as people in London, and nearly half of all urban areas are either green areas or water areas such as rivers, canals and lakes. But that’s not all — the growth of these green and blue areas in the cityscape is set to continue in the future. London wants to become one of the greenest and most sustainable cities in the world. Therefore, by 2050, half of the city’s territory should consist of parks or bodies of water.
For trips to the green corners of the city, the National Park City Program has put together some tips: http://www.nationalparkcity.london/index.php/places-to-go
No visit to the home of football is complete without a stop by the Premier League! It can be difficult, however, to get a ticket. Since West Ham United moved to the London Olympic Stadium, there are always last-minute tickets available until shortly before kick-off.
To make the best use of the cycleways, Santander Cycles has put together some routes to explore London by bike.
Markus Herrmann is a blogger, author and member of the successful podcast “Gästeliste Geisterbahn”. For Porsche, he is testing the mobility level of the Back 2 Tape metropolises in Europe.
The project “Back 2 Tape” is a cooperation between the Porsche Newsroom and music journalist Niko Backspin. It follows the tracks of hip hop in Europe. All further information on this project can be found in the Porsche Newsroom.
An important note: Markus’ trip through Europe as well as “Back 2 Tape” were produced before the outbreak of COVID-19. Porsche, Backspin and the involved agencies and artists are aware of their social responsibility and advise against such a trip at this time out of consideration for the health and well-being of all people.
