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World Bicycle and Automobile Production, 1950-2007 (figure and table)
Selected Cycling-Promotion Initiatives from around the World, 2008 (table)
Bicycle Production by Top Countries, 1990-2007 (table)

Year |
Bicycles |
Cars |
|
Million Units |
1950 |
11 |
8 |
1951 |
11 |
7 |
1952 |
12 |
6 |
1953 |
13 |
8 |
1954 |
14 |
8 |
1955 |
15 |
11 |
1956 |
16 |
9 |
1957 |
17 |
10 |
1958 |
18 |
9 |
1959 |
19 |
11 |
1960 |
20 |
13 |
1961 |
20 |
11 |
1962 |
20 |
14 |
1963 |
20 |
16 |
1964 |
21 |
17 |
1965 |
21 |
19 |
1966 |
22 |
19 |
1967 |
23 |
19 |
1968 |
24 |
22 |
1969 |
25 |
23 |
1970 |
36 |
22 |
1971 |
39 |
26 |
1972 |
46 |
28 |
1973 |
52 |
30 |
1974 |
52 |
26 |
1975 |
43 |
25 |
1976 |
47 |
29 |
1977 |
49 |
30 |
1978 |
51 |
28 |
1979 |
54 |
31 |
1980 |
62 |
29 |
1981 |
65 |
28 |
1982 |
69 |
27 |
1983 |
74 |
30 |
1984 |
76 |
30 |
1985 |
79 |
32 |
1986 |
84 |
33 |
1987 |
98 |
33 |
1988 |
105 |
34 |
1989 |
95 |
36 |
1990 |
91 |
36 |
1991 |
96 |
35 |
1992 |
99 |
36 |
1993 |
99 |
34 |
1994 |
102 |
35 |
1995 |
103 |
36 |
1996 |
96 |
37 |
1997 |
90 |
39 |
1998 |
87 |
39 |
1999 |
88 |
40 |
2000 |
95 |
41 |
2001 |
86 |
40 |
2002 |
94 |
41 |
2003 |
103 |
42 |
2004 |
120 |
44 |
2005 |
124 |
46 |
2006 |
127 |
49 |
2007 |
130 |
52 |
| Note: Bicycle data include electric bicycles. 2003 bicycle data may be underestimate, due to incomplete e-bike data |
| Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute from Gary Gardner, "Bicycle Production Up Slightly," and Michael Renner, "Vehicle Production Rises Sharply," in Worldwatch Institute, Vital Signs 2007-2008 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007), pp. 66-69; bicycle production for 2004-2007 from Jack Oortwijn, Editor in Chief, Bike Europe, discussion with J. Matthew Roney, Earth Policy Institute, 7 May 2008; automobile production for 2006 and 2007 from Jim Dorsey, media relations, Global Insight, discussion with J. Matthew Roney, 6 May 2008. |

|
| Location |
Initiative |
| Victoria, Australia |
Planning provisions were amended in late 2004 to require bicycle parking and end-of-trip facilities (e.g. showers and lockers) for all commercial, retail, and multistory residential building projects exceeding 1,000 square meters. |
| Montreal, Canada |
In May 2007 the city unveiled an $8 billion revamping of its transportation system, including plans to double existing bike paths. On-street bike lanes currently total 180 kilometers. |
| Guangzhou, China |
Guangzhou's 23-kilometer Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor is expected to finish construction and begin operations in 2009. Current plans are for dedicated bicycle lanes along its entire length, as well as bike parking at each station. This would greatly improve upon Chinese BRT lines to date, most of which lack basic bicycle-transit integration. |
| Bogotá, Colombia |
This city's bike network is the most extensive in the developing world, at over 300 kilometers. On Sundays and holidays, cars are prohibited along 120 kilometers of streets. |
| Copenhagen, Denmark |
By investing over $200 million between 2006 and 2024, this city plans to add 136 kilometers of bikeways to its network, bringing its total length to 507 kilometers. |
| Paris, France |
In July 2007 Mayor Bertrand Delanoë launched the extremely popular Vélib bike rental scheme, which now provides 20,600 bikes at 1,451 stations. Vélib is expected to double or even triple the number of daily bike trips. |
| Freiburg, Germany |
This city has a 500-kilometer network of bikeways, and has allocated roughly $1.3 million annually to carrying out its cycling policy since 1976. The transport development plan approved in April 2008 requires every new construction project within the city to provide bicycle parking. |
| Delhi, India |
This city's newest Master Plan calls for making local roads cyclist- and pedestrian- friendly using traffic-calming methods, providing fully separated bicycle tracks on all arterial roads, and promoting bicycle use as a component of Delhi's plans to reduce fossil fuel-based energy consumption. |
| Israel |
The Nature and Parks Authority, other Israeli ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Jewish National Fund are working together to sponsor and construct a 1,200 kilometer bike trail, running north-south through the country. Existing dirt roads will be narrowed so that they are only suitable for bike/pedestrian use. |
| Japan |
The Construction and Transport Ministry and the National Police Agency began a pilot program of cycle path construction in spring 2008. When complete, nearly 200 kilometers of bike-only lanes will be installed near schools and transit stations in 98 city districts around the country. |
| Mexico City, Mexico |
In May 2007 the Mexico City government implemented its Ciclo-Paseos or "Cycle-Rides" program, making Sundays car-free from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm along a 14 kilometer circuit near the city center. |
| Netherlands |
The first country to adopt an official national bicycle policy, the Netherlands averages more than 2 bikes per person. Nearly 19,000 kilometers of paths and lanes are offered exclusively for bicycles, with over 7,000 kilometers of these in cities. |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Biking accounts for 55 percent of trips to work, and 33 percent of trips to school (for journeys under 7.5 kilometers). The city has allocated $160 million for the 2006-2010 period for bicycle-related improvements, including $58 million for bike parking facilities alone. |
| Groningen, Netherlands |
A model of continuous bicycle integration in transportation and land use planning policies for over four decades, this cycling city boasts 37 percent of all trips by bike. Bikes have right-of-way over cars in areas with heavy cycling traffic and are given preference at traffic stops. |
| South Korea |
In late 2007 the Home Affairs Ministry announced a new bicycle promotion campaign that would improve bicycle infrastructure to address growing traffic and air pollution problems, as well as the rising price of oil. The government wants to greatly increase per capita bicycle ownership, partly by building more bicycle-only roads and installing more parking facilities. |
| London, United Kingdom |
In February 2008, Mayor Ken Livingstone announced plans for a massive program to invest nearly $1 billion over the next 10 years in cycling, launching a Paris-inspired bike rental system; creating more cycle lanes; improving and expanding bike parking, especially at rail transit stops; and providing online cycling information. |
| Davis, CA, United States |
Joined in May 2008 by Portland, OR, as the only cities honored with the League of American Bicyclists' highest certification (Platinum), Davis has more bicycles than cars and provides bicycle lanes on roughly 95 percent of its arterial and collector roads. The city budgets around $100,000 per year for bike path maintenance. |
| Chicago, IL, United States |
This city's cycling goals through 2015 include achieving 5 percent of all trips under 5 miles by bike, expanding its bikeway length to 500 miles, and increasing the number of bike-transit trips by 10 percent each year. |
| New York, NY, United States |
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's sustainability plan, "PlaNYC 2030," includes a pledge to complete the city's 1,800-mile bike master plan, of which 420 miles have already been built, and launch a public education program about the health and environmental benefits of cycling, in hopes of greatly improving the bicycle mode share for trips to work. |
| Dallas/Fort Worth, TX |
This metro area has plans for roughly $900 million worth of new bike trails. |
| Eastern Africa |
World Bicycle Relief (WBR), a Clinton Global Initiative partner, launched the pilot phase of "Empowering the Poor Through Bicycle Transportation" in Tanzania and Zambia in early 2008. WBR is well on its way to distributing 1,000 bicycles in each country through micro-finance plans for the poor. If the model proves effective, WBR will do the same in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda. |
| Zambia |
In "Project Zambia", World Bicycle Relief has joined a USAID-funded coalition of relief organizations to fight HIV/AIDS. By September of 2008, the $2.9 million project will have provided 23,000 bicycles to healthcare volunteers, educators promoting disease prevention, and child-led/vulnerable households, as well as trained and equipped over 400 bicycle mechanics. |
| Note: 1 mile = 1.6 kilometers. |
| Source: Compiled by J. Matthew Roney, Earth Policy Institute. |

Year |
China |
Italy |
Germany |
France |
Total EU-15 |
Taiwan |
Japan |
United States |
|
Million Units |
1990 |
31.9 |
3.5 |
3.9 |
1.5 |
n.a. |
6.8 |
0.7 |
5.6 |
1991 |
36.8 |
3.6 |
4.9 |
1.2 |
n.a. |
7.7 |
0.8 |
7.6 |
1992 |
40.3 |
4.1 |
4.6 |
1.0 |
n.a. |
7.5 |
1.0 |
8.9 |
1993 |
41.0 |
5.2 |
4.1 |
1.0 |
n.a. |
7.9 |
1.0 |
7.7 |
1994 |
42.0 |
5.8 |
3.5 |
1.3 |
n.a. |
9.2 |
1.1 |
7.3 |
1995 |
41.0 |
5.3 |
3.2 |
1.3 |
n.a. |
9.7 |
1.8 |
8.8 |
1996 |
38.0 |
4.0 |
2.9 |
1.3 |
n.a. |
7.4 |
1.5 |
8.0 |
1997 |
30.0 |
4.0 |
2.8 |
1.3 |
n.a. |
11.9 |
1.8 |
6.0 |
1998 |
33.8 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
1.6 |
11.7 |
10.5 |
5.9 |
2.5 |
1999 |
42.7 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
1.8 |
12.1 |
8.4 |
5.6 |
1.7 |
2000 |
52.2 |
3.2 |
3.3 |
1.9 |
12.3 |
8.0 |
4.7 |
0.9 |
2001 |
51.2 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
1.6 |
10.5 |
5.0 |
4.2 |
0.9 |
2002 |
63.0 |
2.4 |
3.1 |
1.4 |
10.2 |
4.4 |
3.1 |
0.4 |
2003 |
73.0 |
2.6 |
3.2 |
1.5 |
10.4 |
4.3 |
2.5 |
0.4 |
2004 |
73.0 |
2.6 |
2.9 |
1.7 |
10.4 |
4.4 |
2.5 |
0.3 |
2005 |
80.7 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
1.7 |
10.3 |
4.7 |
1.9 |
0.2 |
2006 |
84.9 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
1.3 |
9.6 |
4.3 |
1.3 |
0.3 |
2007 |
87.0 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
1.1 |
n.a. |
4.9 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
| Note: Production numbers do not include electric bicycles; n.a. indicates data not available. |
| Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute using pre-publication data for 2000-2007 from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, comprised of data from Italian Bicycle, Motorcycle and Accessories Association (ANCMA), Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Bike Europe, Cycle Press, China Bicycle Association, European Bicycle Manufacturers Association, Eurostat, Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, Shimano, Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association, Tous a Velo, and Wheel Giant; EU-15 data for 2006 from Bike Europe; pre-2000 data from Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Directory, comprised of data from Cycle Press, European Bicycle Manufacturers Association, Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, Bike Europe, and Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. |

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