When 2020 brought the beginning of a world level confinement, a few imagined that cycling in pandemic would be the escape of many to a healthier, mobile and sustainable life.
The first year of health crisis due COVID-19 had a drastic but necessary measure, maintain us confined at home. Ironically, or better said, naturally, a prohibitive action that led us to perform it.
In other cases, as much as people wanted to respect this measure, in a country where people live with coin in their pockets, it was necessary to go out to work and to earn their daily bread.
It was precisely the leisure, distraction and need, which make of cycling during pandemic had a huge increase. Among those that found in this a leisure activity and used it as an alternative to transport and get to their jobs, bicycle was a sustainable medicine in disease times. Confinement, paradoxically, boosted mobility… If you want to know more about this, join us in this new tour…
Why did increase cycling in pandemic?
The answer is pretty obvious, but divided in different cases. In one hand, as we mentioned, there was the sector that we mentioned that fortunately, don’t had the necessity to go out of their homes. However, even if they were healthy, this confinement unlocked the need to distract in outdoors.
Even more, due the fact of being isolated in 4 walls also generate the need to move, at least to be far from routine and daily boredom. A little bike ride was then, the perfect escape for them.
The other sector had people who couldn’t have the luxury of stay at home, such as workers, clerks, traders, health personnel, etc. But, in an attempt for trying to stop infections and avoid the contact with people in public transport, led to many people to find another alternative to transport. Cycling was the perfect mean for that, this allowed them to evade agglomerations and direct contact with other people during their route.
Cycling in pandemic had a pretty drastic awakening, due to the need of move at any cost. It was like that, that bike as a mean of transport became into the ideal option of alternative mobility.
Bike tours increased in an unmeasured way. The drastic restrictions caused by COVID-19 started in April of 2020, when registered 1,996 cyclists, number that increased to 6,415 for October of the same year. Meaning, the number of cyclists was triplicated in at least 6 months.
Pandemic, the great promoter of cycling infrastructure
The change of paradigm in mobilization of bike took, logically, to a change of strategies, plannings and executions in the cycling infrastructure.
More cyclists meant more bike rides. Many of these had a purpose to go from work to home and from home to work. This caused authorities as Secretary of Mobility had the need to create more bike ways to provide new and safer bike lanes to provide security and new rules to cyclists.
The best and most important example of this is, insurgentes bike way in Mexico City, this big city of almost 11.8 miles of length was established temporarily the 31 of may of 2020. It arose as a temporary lane while pandemic was ending. The intention was ease cycling in zones with a great number of clerks. However, the functionality and benefits were so big that in February of 2022, cycle path on insurgentes stayed permanently and now is part of the largest ones in Mexico. This also caused that to national level was emphasized the cycling infrastructure and were established new urban planning projects. And also constructed more than 39 miles of bike way to national level, that at the same time resulted in the creation of separated cycle paths, as the installation of new and more horizontal signs for all of them.
Non-motorized transport is increasing
In pandemic, bike rides increase a 221%, a number that becomes more shocking by knowing the rides by car and by public transport reduce to a 50%. Of course, this took to a greater bike purchase.
According to data of the *** in October of 2020, in Mexico manufactured 111, 700 bikes. Other transports increased their sales were electric bikes and scooters, due users, besides, have the benefit of circulate inside within capital bike ways.
In summary, this health crisis was one of the most drastic events we have lived in present times. However, it also worked to leave clear the needs of having a better and greater cycling infrastructure. Cycling in pandemic represented an escape to confinement, but also helped more people acquire a pleasure for cycling after see the different benefits that this provides in their daily lives.
