Cycling in Berlin is a significant form of transport in the German capital where around 500,000 daily bike riders accounted for 13% of total traffic in 2010.[1] The city has a highly developed bicycling infrastructure and it is estimated that Berlin has 710 bicycles per 1000 residents.[2] Among cities with more than one million inhabitants Berlin is a metropolis with one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting in the world.
Berliners have access to 620 km (390 mi) of bike paths including around 150 km (93 mi) mandatory bicycle paths, 190 km (120 mi) off-road bicycle routes, 60 km (37 mi) of bike lanes on the roads, 70 km (43 mi) of shared bus lanes open to cyclists, 100 km (62 mi) of combined pedestrian/bike paths and 50 km (31 mi) of marked bike lanes on the sidewalks.[3]
In addition to a variety of bike paths and bike lanes there are also Fahrradstrassen (German: [ˈfaːɐ̯ʁaːtˌʃtʁaːsn̩] ⓘ;bicycle streets) where bikes have priority and vehicles are limited to 30kmh.
Along the former path of the Berlin Wall there is now the Berliner Mauerweg, the Berlin Wall Trail. It is a circular route, completed in 2006, and traces the former German Democratic Republic border fortifications that surrounded West Berlin.[4]
There are a number of regional and long-distance bike paths that run through Berlin. These include the Berlin-Copenhagen trail, Berlin-Usedom Cycle Route and the European Cycle Route R1.
Riders are allowed to carry their bicycles on Berlin's S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains, on trams, and on night buses[5] if a bike ticket is purchased.[6]
Berlin's bicycle hire system, Call a Bike, is run by the Deutsche Bahn.
BikeSurfBerlin is a bicycle sharing project, where you can borrow bikes for free, or on donation basis.[7]
In the 1997, Berlin-made cycle rickshaws called velotaxis were created.[8] The tickets are about one half the cost of regular taxis. Velotaxis are three-wheeled vehicles with a "space-age lightweight plastic cab that is open on both sides", a space for a driver, and behind the driver, space for two passengers.[9] They have been invented by Ludger Matuszewski, the founder of "Velotaxi GmbH" company.
The Velodrom (Berlin) is an indoor track cycling arena. Holding up to 12,000 people, it was also Berlin's largest concert venue, until the opening of O2 World in 2008.
It is part of a larger complex, which includes a swimming pool as well, built in the course of the application of Berlin, for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
