Future Bicycle criticizes massive cuts in bicycle traffic by the BMDV

In the 2024 federal budget of the BMDV, the funds for the expansion and strengthening of bicycle traffic have been massively cut compared to 2023. This is a fatal signal for the necessary changes in mobility, according to the industry and economic association Zukunft Fahrrad, which strongly criticizes the cuts. Achieving climate targets in transport is moving further and further away, the responsible parties warn. At the same time, opportunities for the transformation of the mobility economy towards climate- and future-proof technologies are being missed. In the Ministry of Transport, funds for bicycle traffic have been cut from around 550 million in 2023 to around 350 million in 2024, the association states. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, on the other hand, has not cut its funds for the National Climate Protection Initiative and the bicycle traffic programs financed from it. This includes in particular the purchase premium for commercial e-cargo bikes as well as the program "Climate Protection through Bicycle Traffic." Projects for sustainable mobility, such as bicycle parking facilities, would also be funded under the Municipal Directive.

"Considering that in 2022, a total of 750 million was available for bicycle traffic in the BMDV, we are now seeing a dramatic decline. Only two years later, less than half of the money is flowing into bicycle traffic. With the presented budget, the Ministry of Transport is departing from the goals formulated in the coalition agreement to promote bicycle traffic and the combination of bicycles and public transport," explained Wasilis von Rauch, Managing Director of Zukunft Fahrrad.