A 2-AVELO plan for cycling in countryside and small towns

To improve the place of cycling in rural areas and medium-sized towns, the government is launching the second call for projects AVELO.

Bike use has significantly increased in major cities in recent years. But the government does not intend to reserve this mode of transport to metropolitan areas. Its goal is to triple the share from 3% to 9% by 2024, including electric assist bikes. To achieve this, it launched the AVELO 1 program, now joined by a second call for projects AVELO 2.

Developing cycling in rural and sparsely populated areas

The AVELO 2 program aims in particular to develop cycling in “rural areas, medium-sized towns, multi-centered municipalities, and suburban areas of agglomerations”. The program is structured around 4 axes:

• The development of a strategy for cycling infrastructure expansion
• The experimentation of bike services
• The promotion and animation of integrated cycling policies
• The funding of “cycling” project managers within territories

Target of 400 communities

“We want to make cycling a daily means of transportation for all French people, whether they live in urban or rural areas,” declared Barbara Pompili. The Minister of Ecological Transition aims to “cover the entire country with bike lanes and foster a genuine cycling culture from a young age.”.

In 2019, the first call for projects involved 254 communities. Launched on January 19, 2022, the AVELO 2 program is less extensive. But with 140 new territories, it will bring the total to 400 communities. The goal is to fund various cycling policies with a total budget of 33 million euros, including 9 million from ADEME and 25 million in CEE funds.

The applications are open until April 4th, to be submitted on the ADEME website.

Also read: Electric bikes are entering the road code