ARTICLE FROM THE BOOK:
Cyclists & Cycling Around the World – Creating Liveable
andBikeable
CitiesCyclists& Cycling
Aroundthe World
Edited by Juan Carlos Dextre, Mike Hughes & Lotte Bech
Published by Fondo Editorial, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2013
ISBN: 978-612-4146-55-8

Multi Modal Transport Policy - The exampleof the Dutch ‘bicycle and train’ system
By Tom Godefrooij, Dutch Cycling Embassy, Holland

Introduction
In the search for a sustainable solution to urban transport problems there is often a strongemphasis on the need for good public transport. Many politicians and experts consider(the promotion of ) public transport to be the instrument to counter the unsustainablegrowth of private motorised transport. The question is: can public transport fulfil theselarge expectations, and if so, under what conditions.
There are obvious reasons to be sceptical, as public transport has some inherent
weaknesses. Very few people have a bus stop right in front of their home, and very few
buses, trams or trains will bring you right to your destination. As people are travelling“from door to door”, public transport users have to get to and from the public transport
stop at the beginning and end of their trip.
In this article, we will present a theoretical framework for optimising the combined
use of bicycle and public transport, illustrated by the Dutch integration of ‘bicycle
and train’ provision.

Looking at strengths and weaknesses of the various modes oftransport
Looking more fundamentally at the various modes of transport, we can see twopolarities: ‘private’ versus ‘public’ on the one hand, and ‘individual’ versus ‘collective’ on
the other hand. This results in four categories of modes: ‘public collective’ mode, ‘public223Public

PrivateStrength- More efficient use of atransport system(less unused hours);- Available for everyone,
without need to own vehicle

Strength- Independent fromcollective (i.e. political)
decision making

Weakness- Attuned to average needs,
not to individual needs- Only available in case of
sufficient demand

Collective
Strength- Advantages of scale incase of large flows
Weakness- No access to individual
addresses, i.e. no door-todoor connectivity

Individual
Strength- Accommodating travelfrom door to door
- Meets individual travel
needs

Weakness- Summing up ofindividual choices does
not necessarily result in thebest total result for society

TrainBus
Tram
MetroAirplane

Charter transport- Company bus- Touring car- Charter airplane-…

...

Carpool
Shared car ownership

Taxi
Rickshaw
Bodaboda (Kenyan bicycletaxi)
Rental bicycle
Public bicycle/bike sharing….

Walking
BicycleMoped
Motorcycle
Car

Weakness- Wasteful use oftransport capacity

Table 1: overview of modes according to their public,
private, collective and individual character224

Cyclists & Cycling Around the World

individual’ mode, ‘private collective’ mode and ‘private individual’ mode. Table 1 offers anoverview of how specific modes can be characterised, and what the general strengths
and weaknesses are. Important properties characterising each category of modes are‘penetration ability’ (i.e. the ability to penetrate deep into the capillaries of the urban
fabric and to provide access to individual addresses), ‘flexibility’ and ‘radius of action’. This
more subtle categorisation of modes can help optimise the transport system further.
Each mode of transport has its own ‘domain of application’ or context where its use ismost useful. A sustainable and integrated transport system should utilise the strengthsof each mode of transport and avoid the weaknesses, resulting is an ‘optimal mix’ oftransport modes.

Cycling and public transport are very complementary in their characteristics andcompensate for each other’s weaknesses.
The bicycle is a perfect mode of transport for the urban environment: fast overshort distances, flexible and providing access to each and every individual address.
Moreover, the bicycle can be used at any suitable time. On the other hand its radiusof action is limited.
Public transport has quite the reverse qualities: its strength is mass transport over longer
distances but its flexibility and penetration ability are very limited. Only over longer
distances and under certain conditions can it offer acceptable (i.e. competitive) travel
times from door to door. Over short distances, public transport does very poorly.

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These strengths and weaknesses of both modes are reflected in the Dutch modal choicepatterns: for trips up to 15 km, the bicycle is used more often than public transport;
only over distances longer than 15 km is the use of public transport more frequent thanbicycle use. This underlines the large potential of cycling as an important element in theurban transport system.
If we can properly combine the strengths of cycling and public transport into one, wellintegrated transport system we would have available a system that can provide mobility
for almost all trips with origins and destinations in urban areas.

Trip chains
For discussing intermodal transport systems the concept of ‘trip chain’ is very helpful.
Virtually all vehicular trips can be analysed as a chain of ‘trip segments’ or ‘links’. The
simplest trip chain has three links: a walking trip to the vehicle, a vehicle ride, and a final
walk to one’s destination. (The walking trips here can be as short as just a few meters.)
In general, trip chains with one or more public transport links are more complex andinclude access and egress (or feeder) trips. The diagram below shows some rather simple
examples with only one public transport link in the chain:

As any chain is as strong as its weakest link, the trip chain concept allows us to analyse
which improvements of the integrated ‘bicycle and public transport system’ are mosturgent. And every link in the chain can be optimised so as to offer the best possible
door-to-door quality of the trip. The trip chain concept also makes it perfectly clear that
good quality of access and egress trips are as important for an attractive public transportsystem as the quality of the public transport service itself.

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Cyclists & Cycling Around the WorldIn the next paragraph, we will look at the basics of the Dutch ‘bicycle and train system’and describe the essential links for a smooth integration.

Optimizing the links in the trip chain: the Dutch bicycle and train
exampleThe Netherlands has a well-used railway system resulting in the most frequently used
railway network in Europe. 40% of all train passengers make their access trip by bicycle,
and 15% use the bicycle for their egress trip: these percentages are still growing. The
success of Dutch rail is, to a large extent, based on the strong position of cycling in
the urban transport system, but also because of a deliberate policy to fully utilise thepotential of cycling as a feeder mode. Let’s have a look why.
Enlargement of catchment area as a consequence of cycling as feeder mode
The closer people live to a railway station, the larger their inclination to use the train. The
area around a railway station where train passengers have their origin or destination iscalled the ‘catchment area’. The more people living in the catchment area and the more
relevant destinations there are, the more potential clients the railway system will have.
About 75% of users of the Netherlands railway system spend no more than about 15
minutes for their access and egress trips. A shift from walking to cycling will immediately
increase the catchment area of a railway station drastically as one can cover a 4 to 5 times
larger distance in the same time!

Enlargement of catchment area
On the bicycle
2500 m.

500 m.
1000 m.

5000 m.

On foot227

Photo 1: Entrance ofguarded bicycle parking
at the station square‘s-Hertogenbosch

Without the availability of cycling as feeder mode, public transport would depend on
walking clients; and as a consequence one would need a much more fine meshed public
transport network. This could be achieved by providing e.g. a (rather inefficient) feeder
bus system to open up the entire urban area. The combination of bicycle and train is sostrong because both sub-systems components are utilised for their strengths: the train
for covering long distances, and the bicycle for opening up the urban area.
By optimizing the bicycle route network (more direct routes e.g. by offering short cuts)
and by minimizing delay on station bound cycle routes one can further enlarge thecatchment area of a railway station for both access and egress trips. Interventions closer
to the railway station will have a larger impact, as more cyclists will profit from thoseinterventions.
Improving the smooth transfer between feeder modes and public transport
Station square layout
Also, the layout of the station square requires special attention. Here, all cycle routes
are involved, as well as other feeder modes. It is the venue for making the transfer fromfeeder trip to the train system (and vice versa). Provisions like bicycle parking, taxi stands,
bus stops, city maps, a drop off area, park and ride facilities and convenience shops, allthese functions have to be accommodated.
From a cyclists’ point of view it is important to get to the right spot to park the bicycle
safely and as close as possible to the train platforms.
Bicycle parking
Ideally, the location of bicycle parking facilities is well connected to the local cycle route
network, and close to the train platforms. Dutch railway stations usually offer two options

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Cyclists & Cycling Around the Worldfor bicycle parking: secured bicycle parking (either guarded or in lockers) at a certain cost,and unsecured parking for free.
Guarded (indoor) bicycle parking facilities can be found at larger railway stations, often
in the basement of the station building. Bicycles can be parked in two layers so as tomake the most efficient use of scarce and expensive space. New types of two tier bicycle
parking are being introduced with integrated gas springs which help the cyclist to lift thebicycle to the upper storage level and back. This makes storing one’s bicycle on the upper
level a lot easier.
On smaller stations secured bicycle parking is offered by means of lockers or by means ofautomated entrance systems combined with camera supervision.
Everyday experience has taught us that a substantial proportion of cycling train
passengers are not prepared to pay for secured bicycle parking. That is why each railway
station has also free bicycle parking facilities available.

Investment programme ‘Space for the bicycle‘
Good bicycle parking around railway stations is at the heart of the combined use ofbicycles and trains. From 1999 to 2012, there has been a comprehensive investment
programme to expand the number of bicycle parking facilities available, and to improve

Photo 2: Bicycle parking in thebasement of the railway station in‘s-Hertogenbosch

Photo 3: Two tier bicycle parking
facility with integrated gas springs

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Photo 4: Typical bicycle parking facilities
at minor railway stations (Eindhoven)the quality of the existing facilities. The ministry, the railways, municipalities and various
other stakeholders are involved in the implementation of this programme. At the end,
400,000 bicycle parking places need to be available.
An important concern is the most efficient use of the limited space available. More andmore the two tier bicycle parking facilities are also on offer for free bicycle parking, atsome railway stations in multi store constructions, like the ‘bicycle flat’ at the Amsterdam
central station or the facility in Nijmegen as shown on photo 5. Thus the distinction
between secured and unsecured parking is getting smaller, also because a number ofmunicipalities have started to offer secured parking for free.
Availability of bicycles for egress trips
Virtually all Dutch people own a bicycle that they can use for the ‘home side’ feeder
trips. But for egress (‘destination side’) trips the availability of a bicycle is less obvious.

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Cyclists & Cycling Around the WorldPhoto 5: Free bicycle parking in
the city of Nijmegen

Therefore the egress link is traditionally the weakest link in the trip chain. Making bicycles
available for the egress trips would bring many more potential destinations within thecatchment area of the railway stations. There are a few options for making bicycles
available for egress trips as well:-		One can take one’s bicycle onto the train. Folding bicycles can be taken on for free.
Ordinary bicycles are allowed outside peak hours with payment.
- Commuters may have a second bicycle at their destination station to cycle to their job.
- The third option is a rental or a public bicycle. The traditional rental service at railway
stations was relatively expensive and procedures to get one were time consuming:
filling out forms and paying a deposit. So the use of this rental system was low, andmainly for irregular trips. In 2002 the OV-fiets (i.e. PT-bicycle, or public transport bicycle)
was introduced. This is a public bicycle system that requires a subscription, and allows
subscribers to get a bicycle very quickly and easily. Subscribers have a pass with a bar
code that can be read by a scanner to get a bicycle. The costs for renting are deductedfrom your account once a month. This system turned out to be an enormous success.
By now (2012) it has 100,000 subscribers, and in 2011 over one million rides were made,thus being the largest public bicycle system in the world. The OV-fiets is used both by
daily commuters and for irregular trips, and has proven to be a big improvement in theweakest link of the trip chain.

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Conclusion
The Dutch experience shows that investments in the integration of cycling and public
transport are worthwhile. A systematic approach, addressing all the links of the trip chain
door to door is resulting in an increased use of the Dutch railway system.
Tom Godefrooij
tom.godefrooij@dutchcycling.nl232