Residents of Hamburg pedal record 2.7 million kilometres

"People in Hamburg cycle in their free time, to work and in hail, rain and sun," said Samina Mir, Chair of the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in Hamburg. "More than 16,000 people in Hamburg have clocked up kilometres. Individual cyclists have become a community. This great response reflects the enthusiasm in Hamburg for cycling and how important it is to work on expanding the infrastructure." Jens Kerstan, Senator for the Environment, and an avid cyclist, said: "Every kilometre travelled by bike instead of in a car is a gain."

The UmweltPartnerschaft Hamburg and its sponsors, the Ministry for the Environment, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Crafts, the Industrial Association and Port Association had encouraged their 1,500 members and workforces to take part. The HIBB team at the Hamburg Institute for Vocational Education and Training cycled the most kilometres in absolute terms (103,109 km), followed by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (56,474 km) and Airbus Cycle to Work (54,672 km).

The cycling campaign encourages people to hop on their bicycles and to leave cars at home. The strategy should help establish the infrastructure for safer, faster cycling in the city thereby improving the quality of air and protecting the climate. Launched by the Ministry for the Environment in 2018, the campaign is run with the ADFC Hamburg. Around 427 tonnes of CO2 in emissions were saved as a result of this year’s campaign.

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