ADFC Bicycle Climate Test – how bike-friendly are Germany’s cities and towns?

Record turnout for the anniversary

The ADFC’s Bicycle Climate Test, one of the largest surveys of cyclist satisfaction worldwide, is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport. Conducted for the tenth time in 2022, the survey enjoyed a record number of participants on its anniversary: 245,000 people voted on how bike-friendly they perceive their place of residence to be. On this basis, Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, honored 25 cities and communities for their bike friendliness at the end of April.

And the winner is … the results of the Bicycle Climate Test

The clear winner is the town of Wettringen in the Münsterland region. With an overall score of 2.0, it not only performs best in its category (up to 20,000 inhabitants), but also in the overall ranking and is awarded receives the special accolade in the “cycling in rural areas” category. Bremen comes out on top among cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. The cycling city of Münster takes first place among municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, while Erlangen achieves first place in the cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Plenty of room for improvement

However, the accolade didn’t only go to the most bike-friendly cities but also to those that have shown the most significant improvements since the last survey. These include Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz and Landshut. We think this accolade for catching up is a key indicator, because one thing has become very clear in the survey: The vast majority of cyclists are not satisfied with their home town situation. The overall score of 3.96 shows that there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to bike-friendliness.

Bicycle climate provides guidance to municipalities

For cities and towns, the results of the Bicycle Climate Test can serve as key indicators for targeted improvements that make cycling more attractive. The survey addresses aspects such as the infrastructure for cycling, the perceived safety and comfort when cycling, as well as the options for parking bicycles safely or taking them on public transport. According to the ADFC survey, there is a particular need for improvement in the width of bike paths, the control of cars parked incorrectly on bike paths and the management of bike traffic at construction sites – all of which increase the safety of cyclists.

We make cycling more attractive!

Is cycling fun or stressful for you? Do you feel safe when you ride your bike in your city and how good are the parking facilities for your bike? The attraction of the switch from car to bike partly depends on the answers to these questions, because the better the cycling climate, the more people are encouraged to switch to the bike. But regardless of how bike-friendly your city is, we have good news: If you want to pedal more often in the future, you can save a lot on the acquisition of a new bike or e-bike through company bike leasing. Find out more about bike leasing for employees on our website.

Do you want to find out how bike-friendly your city or town is? For details on the results of the current survey, visit the ADFC Bike Climate Test website.