Auf dem Weg zum Fahrradland – Barrieren von Nichtradfahrer*innen identifizieren und überwinden

Increasing cycling traffic is seen as a key element of the transformation towards sustainable mobility. The National Cycling Plan 3.0, entitled ‘Cycling Nation Germany 2030’, is clearly aimed in this direction. However, support for cycling has hitherto shown only limited success: in Germany, the average share of trips done by bicycle has barely increased over the past 20 years and in particular, the proportion of non-cyclists could not be reduced. Compared with so-called ‘cycling nations’ such as The Netherlands, the share of people who rarely or never cycle is very high (> 50%), which constitutes a major obstacle to the ‘mobility turn’. The ‘RadAktiv’ project systematically compared cyclists and non-cyclists and identified barriers to cycling. The study was based on qualitative interviews and a nationally representative survey (n = 5002). The main differences between cyclists and non-cyclists were identified in the area of mobility socialization and in the perceptions of the utility of cycling as a mode of transport. In addition, classification of non-cyclists was undertaken, that described the ability to be active of three distinct types and their specific barriers: almost-cyclists, cycling sceptics and cycling deniers. Based on these results, a set of type-specific measures to motivate non-cyclists to take up cycling were derived. In addition to infrastructure measures, which are already the focus of existing promotional efforts, social and cultural reasons for non-cycling need to be given more consideration in the future. Targeted and type-specific communication about the advantages of cycling, the strengthening of a cycling-friendly mobility culture and explicit recognition of the everyday experiences and concerns of different types of non-cyclists are promising approaches.