For several years now, we have partnered with the European Cyclists Federation, the European lobby that advocates for the development of cycling at the European level.

This partnership makes sense for Eco-Counter on multiple levels but resonates strongly with the company’s mission: help territories transform for healthier, cleaner and livelier environements with reliable and objective data.

This partnership has concretized in various projects, like:

• The EuroVelo Barometer,which analyses the trends of European cycle tourism routes
• Inclusion of bike count data in the “EuroVelo Data Hub“, a project initiated by the ECF for the pooling of data from different sources: attendance, economic benefits, etc.
• A significant presence at Velo-City, the flagship event of the cycling development ecosystem, in Europe and around the world.
• A support to the ECF Awards, a highlight of Velo-City itself!

The ECF Awards: a Velo-City highlight, coming June 18!

In 2024, we will continue to be present alongside the ECF at Velo-City in Ghent. And on this occasion, we will have the privilege to support the new edition of the ECF Awards. rewarding a nominee in the category “Cycling Improvement”.

We will reward a municipality or public body in the category “Cycling Improvement”, i.e. the demonstration of significant improvements in the past year in making cycling a go-to option for an ever more diverse public.

About the “Cycling Improvement” Award

It is fair to say that cycling culture already exists in certain parts of Europe. However, these cycling strongholds were not-so-easily established. Even in well-renowned cycling countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, it took a lot of effort, support and political will from decisionmakers to shift away from car-centric urban planning and establish cycling cultures that we now take as a given.

Today, European towns, cities and rural areas that are not already-associated with cycling culture face similar challenges in promoting cycling over widespread car-usage. In recognition of these challenges, the “Cycling Improvement” Award aims to showcase the best example of how a cycling culture can be manifested in an area that was not previously considered as bicycle friendly.

ECF awards ceremony at Velo-City 2023 in Leipzig

In 2022, the city of Paris got rewarded for its remarkable efforts in the matter of cycling developement. To learn more about the work carried out, and the impacts measured with the data, read our article on the subject, or watch our case study!

In 2023, the winner was the city of Heidelberg in Germany for its commitment to cycling development. With 40% of Heidelberg’s inhabitants using their bikes as their main mode of transport for inner city journeys, the city demonstrated clear ambitions and had already implemented concrete actions to improve cycling as part of a larger transition.

In 2022, the city’s cycling counters recorded a 17% growth in the amount of bicycle journeys compared to the previous year – from an already high base. And their leaders are “leading by example”, with the city’s Mayor Eckart Würzner known to lead informative cycling tours for citizens.

The city is also using our famous Eco-DISPLAY to communicate engaging figures about cycling with the public! The site is ranked #23 out of 438 on our interactive world map presenting bicycle figures.

And now, what do the 2024 Awards have in store for us?

Answer soon for the list of nominees, and on June 18 for the grand winner!