2021 Bikebarometer: Which Cities Are the Most Bike-Friendly?

While cycling remains considered less favorable, the Cycle-Friendly Cities Barometer provides its good and bad ratings by city.

In 2021, the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) released the Cycle-Friendly Cities Barometer survey to gather as many contributions as possible. Each person was asked to share their view as a cyclist in a given city, judging cycling policies, feelings, streets to avoid or well-designed, etc. Of course, we participated without hesitation.

Success for the 2021 Bicycle Barometer

Between September 14 and November 30, it collected over 277,000 votes, a 50% increase compared to the 2019 edition. Analyzed data allowed for an assessment of cycling conditions in 1,625 municipalities, doubling the 2019 figure, representing more than half of the French population (35.3 million).

It features the 38 major cities with populations over 100,000, 85% of mid-sized cities, 57% of suburban municipalities, but only 40% for biking in small towns and 1% in rural areas for villages and rural communes. The barometer thus did not include roughly 6,500 municipalities with 1 to 50 contributions.

In France, the score is close to the 2019 and 2017 editions, with an average of 2.98 out of 6. Bicycle safety remains the weakest point, scored at 2.8 but improving (2.68 in 2019), compared to 3.23 for services and parking. Efforts in cycling policy are sharply increasing to 2.93, up from 2.76 two years earlier. More concretely, 64% of respondents reported poor conditions for bike use.

A “Bicycle Score” and city statistics

The website presents the results beautifully and intuitively. You can browse the map of France with listed cities. The map looks a bit sparse due to the minimum of 50 votes required per city to give a trend. Besides major urban areas, there is significant participation in the Pays de la Loire region, along the Atlantic coast generally, and along the Mediterranean coast.

Municipalities are scored out of 6, with a representation from A to F, from green to red, similar to energy efficiency ratings for cars, appliances, or the recent Nutri-Score for food. Paris with 3.33 earns a D (yellow), Marseille with 2.01 is rated G (red), and Strasbourg with 4.18 gets a good B (light green).

Data to improve bicycle integration

In each municipality, the Bicycle Barometer provides geographic details. For example, in Paris, red points indicate areas to improve, such as Porte Maillot (under construction with little infrastructure), or green markings indicating areas of improvement like Rue de Rivoli (now primarily cycling-friendly).

In blue, the needs for bike parking spaces, near train stations or the Châtelet district.

We hope that municipal teams will draw inspiration from this for their future mobility policies. Concerning parking at train stations and bike lanes, these are part of the Active Mobility Fund from the government, financed with 350 million euros over 7 years. It is currently on its 4th call for projects to develop cycling participation and support a potential cycling industry in France.

The bicycle barometer rankings by region and city

Alternatively, you can consult the index for each region, with scores for each municipality. The lists in the Bicycle Barometer are alphabetical, which is a pity—one would prefer a ranking based on scores.

However, the top 3 nationally for each category (score out of 6) are known:

• Towns and villages: La Tranche-sur-Mer (4.64), Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains (4.6), Bretignolles-sur-Mer (4.53).
• Small cities: Saint-Jean-de-Monts (4.53), Val-de-Reuil (4.47), Marseillan (4.47).
• Suburban areas: Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc (4.89), Le Teich (4.54), Sené (4.47).
• Mid-sized cities: La Rochelle (4.10), Bourg-en-Bresse (3.87), Chambéry (3.83).
• Main cities: Grenoble (4.21), Strasbourg (4.18), Rennes (3.74).

Also read: Pollution: bicycles, subways, cars… which mode of transportation is most exposed?