On 8 June, Spain adopted its first evernational cycling strategy. With a budget of €5 million (as defined in the General State Budget 2021), the strategy represents a monumental step forward in recognising the importance cycling as a fundamental solution for urban mobility.

“我们真正地珍视骑自行车最终在事工预算中考虑到。这意味着终于可以理解自行车不是玩具：它是解决行动政策的解决方案。”ConBici，是欧洲骑自行车者联合会的成员，与西班牙自行车网站Ciclosfera交谈。“直到现在，这只是政治上正确的言论。现在，它标志着促进国家自行车战略的现实。”

这段历史时刻的大部分功劳都属于康比奇（Conbici）的集体努力，他们自2004年以来一直主张制定国家自行车战略，并继续与地方当局合作多年以实现其目标。

The importance of strategy

骑自行车的国家策略set clear activities and precise goals for the development of cycling at the national level, while also defining state investments exclusively dedicated to cycling. As explained by José Luis Ábalos, the Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA), “for the first time, Spain has a specific budget for cycling.”

尽管最初的500万欧元预算非常有限，尤其是与其他国家或其他部门相比（例如，超过20亿欧元将用于西班牙公路网), its introduction is an achievement in itself because it consolidates cycling, granting it the opportunity increase in future budgets.

正如西班牙品牌和自行车协会（AMBE）的卡洛斯·努尼兹（CarlosNúñez）所说，英国自行车战略在2012年以500万英镑的价格开始，现在拥有超过20亿英镑的资金！

部长何塞·路易斯·Ábalos在马德里提出了该战略。资料来源：GobiernodeEspaña

计划中有什么？

该策略是在座右铭“ efecto bicicleta：cuando te sumas，todo rueda”下提出的（“自行车效应：当我们团结在一起时，一切都奏效了”），这强调了积极流动性的促进和增加是如何的使命。整个社会。它旨在陪同当地政府，指导他们并支持他们进行更多骑自行车所需的心态转变。

它还将允许从多个角度（例如机动性，健康，休闲，体育和经济）促进骑自行车的几项公共政策。

该策略的五个优先事项可以总结如下：

1. 通过模态向骑自行车进行可持续移动。
2. Promote healthy life through active mobility.
3. 利用自行车旅游的潜力。
4. Promote leisure and sport cycling.
5. 协调国家在促进骑自行车方面的作用。

这五个优先级将通过十个主题领域实施，从该领域得出了28个动作块的汇编，总共有150多个特定的操作（此处可详细获取）。

此外，国家自行车策略需要创建MITMA自行车办公室为了集中协调和沟通的活动。此外，部长已经陈述that his department is working hand in hand with the Spanish Railways Foundation to launch a line of subsidies that will help local entities to improve bicycle-rail intermodality, creating safer access to stations and bicycle parking lots.

The state-owned railway companies, Renfe and Adif, have also joined this objective, with the former introducing the obligation for new trains to have a dedicated space for bicycles, while the latter will launch a pilot test for a safe parking space for bicycles at the Chamartín-Clara Campoamor Station in Madrid. There is hope that more funds will add to the €5 million, coming from the other ministries involved, such as Tourism, Health and Education.

巴塞罗那的骑自行车的人。资料来源：Nicolas Vigier通过Flickr

A new season for cycling in Spain

通过一项国家自行车战略的采用证实了西班牙对改变更多自行车的承诺。在5月份宣布30亿欧元之后National Recovery and Resilience Plan(NRRP), Spain is realising a turning point for cycling promotion and development.

实际上，这两个历史里程碑可能会交织在一起。国家自行车战略将使NRRP的资金能够用于可持续发展。由于是一种环保的运输方式，因此自行车投资将非常有吸引力，并且在首位获得NRRP资金的资金中将非常有吸引力。

西班牙’s adoption of the strategy has set an example for those EU Member States that still lack a national cycling strategy. The strategy will allow for investments in cycling to capitalise on the opportunities given by the Recovery Fund and the extraordinary cycling boom, and help contribute to what ECF President Henk Swarttouw has coined“自行车的十年。”

Cover photo: Cyclists in Barcelona. Source: Nicolas Vigier via Flickr