Frequency of travel by bicycle in Germany 2023

More than half of the German population are regular or semi-regular cyclists. About 54 percent of Germans ride a bicycle, including e-bikes, once per month or more often. However, just under 30 percent of the population never cycle, and around 16% of Germans only cycle rarely.

Germany: A cycling nation?

Germany has a relatively well-established cycling culture compared to many other European countries. One-fifth of Germans use a bicycle as their primary mode of transport for short journeys of around two kilometers. This is approximately on par with Sweden and Belgium. Regarding the regularity of cycling, the share of Germans riding a bike at least once a week is comparable to cycling habits in Poland. However, Germany is vastly outranked in both metrics by the Netherlands, where 66 percent of the population rides a bike weekly, and 45 percent considers the bicycle their primary mode of transport for short trips.

The private car dominates the commute to work

Despite efforts by German federal, state, and many local governments to encourage more people to travel to their place of work by bike or on public transport, the German commute remains dominated by private car travel. Nearly a tenth of the German workforce ride their bicycle to work, and around six percent of the population walk, while public transport accounts for about a quarter of all journeys to work. Meanwhile, over 60 percent of commuters arrive at work by car, most as the driver and a small proportion as passengers.