The “Austria is cycling” campaign is entering its fifth round

Last year, 36,000 cyclists took part and rode 29 million kilometers on their bikes. This replaced potential car journeys and saved more than 5,000 tons of CO2. “The bike is unbeatable for journeys of less than 2.5 kilometers,” said Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler at a joint meeting with Health Minister Johannes Rauch (both Greens) on Monday on the Ringradweg in Vienna. “Cycling is good for the environment, for the climate and for your own health,” said the minister. Now is the “best time to ride a bike,” added Rauch, with a view to the onset of spring weather. The Minister of Health emphasized that cycling prevents cardiovascular diseases and is easy on the joints, making it a suitable sport for all ages.

According to Statistics Austria, 2.7 million people in Austria regularly get on their bikes. With the campaign that has now started, the proportion of bicycle traffic is to be further increased – Gewessler wants to double the proportion. Last year more than 600 companies and municipalities as well as 250 clubs and 130 educational institutions took part.

Rauch reported that before his work as Minister of Health in Vorarlberg, he was responsible for cycling as a provincial councilor and that this was consistently expanded. Vorarlberg is “a cycling country” and has the second highest percentage of cyclists after Vienna. Gewessler and Rauch got on their own bikes after the meeting – the Health Minister on a racing bike, the Environment Minister on a folding bike. “I have three bikes, I’ll be on the road with this one at the weekend,” said Rauch. Racing bikes may be ridden in daylight and with good visibility without reflectors and a bell.

There are prizes again this year for the hardest-working cyclists. The kilometers cycled can be entered at www.radelt.at or in the “Österreich radelt” app and the performance compared in a friendly competition. In addition, prizes such as bicycles, e-bikes, folding bikes and bicycle accessories are raffled off in various campaigns – from “Austria cycles to work” and “Austria cycles to school” to “summer cycling”. Interested companies, municipalities, clubs and educational institutions can register at www.radelt.at/veranstalter and motivate people to cycle. Biking is especially important for children, Gewessler said. Because this “changes the mobility behavior in adulthood”.