Cycling and the city: Meet your local bike mayor

Bicycle mayors come in all forms. Uniting them is their shared passion for cycling. And for getting their fellow urbanites to discover the joys of whizzing around town on two wheels.

The network currently counts 141 mayors in 39 countries and was launched by BYCS, an Amsterdam-based global NGO supporting community-led urban change through cycling. The idea is to sup- port and connect grassroots initiatives around the world to foster cycling-friendly infrastructure and policies in their city. The ultimate aim? To have 5 0 % of all urban trips occur by bicycle by 2030.

As local catalysts and the human face of an entire movement, the bicycle mayors are key in getting closer to that bold goal. For them, the bike is a means rather than ane nd. A pathway to livable cities that prioritize human health and the environment. As they say, “cycling is so much more than transportation, it is transformation”.

Let’s meet the people making it happen.

Washington DC

Renee Moore

I learned how to ride a bike when I was 25, on a date. I learned in about an hour and loved it. I became a bicycle mayor in 2019 and also work as the outreach director for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. My goal is to get more people using bikes!

My passion really came about when I came back to DC [from Texas]. I was looking to ride with other people so I started a meetup with women and we rode the trails. It was great. Later my mom had a stroke and was in the hospital. I knew I was going to visit her every day, but the parking was expensive. And so I decided I would bike.

I started a group called ‘bicycling in the city’. I took people out to all kinds of stuff: events, festivals and movies. It was about sneaking a bike ride in. That was really the concept – getting people out, especially people of color.

I think representation matters a lot in biking. We weren’t seeing a lot of women biking. Or people of color. I want people to see I’m a middle-aged black woman who’s biking and it’s accessible. It’s something that anybody can do. You don’t have to wear a special kit or $300 worth of Spandex.

There’s a program called Food Rescue and Ipartner with them to do food rescues by bike. People with cargo bikes will go to farmers’ markets and restaurants and pick up the leftover food and deliver it to social service agencies. I’m really proud of that program because we mobilize cyclists, take cars off the road and help people.

My tip is to try out a short trip first. If your grocery store is close by, try that and see what it’s like. It could create a kind of spark. The next step is to go a bit further. It’s never as far as people think. When they get on the bike, they’re like, ‘That was 10 minutes. I wasn’t in traffic and it was great!

Manchester

Belinda Everett

My main focus as bicycle mayor at the moment is to give more of a platform to grassroots organizations. The people who are in these organizations are very passionate and a lot of them are volunteer-led, so we need to shout about the amazing stuff that they’re doing.

Manchester has just won the European Capital of Cycling, so there’s a lot of meetings and events that are happening to get more people involved in cycling. We organized an International Women’s Day bike ride and another event called Lights Up last November. We wanted to come together and be more visible, but also make it fun at the same time. We called it #disco-on-wheels. We rode together and everyone made a real celebration of it: with lights all over the bikes, disco music and speakers – it was magical.

It’s creating visibility for the council as well, by showing there’s a need. People have to feel that it’s a better choice. We’re up against the car, which is seen as king: convenient, comfy, and cool. So how do we convince, especially the younger generation, that maybe this is a better option?

There’s the situation with mental health and cycling can help this, but we’ve also got the cost of living crisis. By making a choice to not invest in a car but invest in a bike or cargo bike, you’re actually saving money. So it’s looking at these things and looking at the choices that people make and giving good and valid reasons why maybe they should choose a bike over a car.

My message to others? This beautiful, simple invention can lead to a lot of very fun, amazing adventures. Slow down. Look around.

New Delhi

Dalip Sabharwal

I always used to take my car to work every day. But back in 2016, New Delhi imposed a new rule: only vehicles with odd number plates were allowed on odd dates and only vehicles with even numbers were allowed on the even dates. That’s when I realized how critical the problem of air pollution is. So I thought, why even drive for one day? I started commuting by bicycle for a few days and then twice a week and since 2018 it’s an everyday routine.

In India the bicycle used to be the primary mode of transportation for the majority of people. But the car has become a status symbol. People have to get out of that mindset. Because pollution and climate change is a problem that is affecting 100% of the population. So we talk to stakeholders. We meet them and talk about the need for infrastructure, we talk about road safety but as a bicycle mayor, my main focus is to get in touch with the people and make them a part of the movement. Because no change is possible without citizens’ involvement. They play the most critical part in bringing any change.

I started my New Year on the first of January, with an awareness ride from New Delhi to Agra, which is around 200km (125mi). On January 2, I came back from Agra to New Delhi. That was 400km (250mi) in two days. I did it wearing a formal office suit, because people say that if you have a white-collar job it’s difficult to ride to work. So I just wanted to tell them it is not difficult at all: you get onto the saddle and you ride to work.

I have a responsibility towards the city and my country because everybody is being affected.

It’s about getting a livable city, a breathable city. That’s something I am working for. If the environment is healthy, you will have a healthy life. If the environment is not healthy, you cannot live a healthy life. One has to understand this. I always love to talk about a sustainable future because alone, I can take an initiative, but together we can make it a success.

Brasilia

Ana Carboni

As bicycle mayor of Brasília, I’m trying to change the cultural mindset because Brasília has been planned for cars. I think we have one of the highest motorization rates in the world.

I’m currently working to advocate change in Brazilian legislation… to change the traffic code and reduce speed limits throughout the country. Together with other civil society organizations, we wrote a bill that was presented to Congress in May last year.

Public transport is very bad. There’s no good infrastructure. The local government is always investing in more asphalt. We have the second-highest kilometers of cycle lanes in Brazil, but they don’t connect to each other. They’re not well maintained. People don’t know they exist because there is no signage.

Brasília was built in the 1950s. It should become the city of the future again. It demands a change in mentality, understanding that there are other ways of moving about.

There are places that are not accessible at all and there are really big motorways where you need to cross 12 lanes of heavy traffic. Even people who might want to cycle, are unable to, because it’s not safe.

The pollution related to road transportation has been increasing. I think even internationally, cycling hasn’t been getting the attention that it should as a mitigating climate solution. We need to talk about how much effect road transportation has on climate change.

Sometimes if I need to go to a place that is far away, I go by car, but I always regret it. When I don’t cycle, it’s a very sad day. I’m hopeful that we’re going to be able to make changes to have enough people cycling and understanding the positive changes that this can bring.