U.S. Still Missing Bike Lessons from Europe

Writer Elisabeth Rosenthal compares the cycling experience of the U.S. with European cities and finds major differences.

"When we talk about "bike friendly" cities in the United States, most are mere college towns and none boast more than 6 per cent bike commuters. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2009 community survey, 76 percent of Americans drive to work alone in their cars each day, while only 0.6 percent arrive by bicycle.

What's going on here? One key component that has enabled Europe's successful bike revolution, I think, is not infrastructure, but sociology: While Americans still view bicycling as a form of exercise or recreation, a tectonic shift in attitudes has taken place in many parts of Europe, where people now regard bicycling as a serious form of urban mass transportation."