How the Dutch got their bikes back

Visit any Dutch city at eight in the morning and you'll see the same thing: streams of cyclists in suits, school uniforms and rain jackets. The Netherlands has more bicycles than people, and cycling feels as normal as walking. It's easy to assume that the Dutch simply love bikes. In fact, the country almost lost its cycling culture.

After the Second World War, cars took over. Roads were widened, some canals were filled in, and bicycles were pushed to the edges. By the early 1970s, hundreds of children were being killed on Dutch roads every year. Parents were furious. A campaign called Stop de Kindermoord, or 'stop the child murder', put the issue on the front pages and brought people out onto the streets.

Then came the 1973 oil crisis. With petrol rationed and car-free Sundays introduced, many people rediscovered cycling. Politicians who had once seen bikes as old-fashioned began to change their minds. The government started to invest in safe, separate cycle paths, and over the following decades the network grew to cover the whole country.

The real secret, according to transport planners, isn't the number of paths but their quality. Cycle paths are kept apart from fast traffic, junctions are designed so that cyclists and cars rarely cross at speed, and traffic lights give bikes a head start. Children cycle to school on their own from a young age. That would worry many parents in other countries, but here it is simply how things work.

The Dutch model isn't perfect. Bike theft is common, parking at busy stations is a headache, and some city centres have become too crowded for comfort. Fast electric bikes have also created new risks for older riders. Even so, the benefits are clear: cleaner air, quieter streets and a population that gets daily exercise without thinking about it.

Other cities are now trying to copy the idea, from Paris to Bogotá, and several are adding new cycle lanes. Transport experts warn that painting a line on the road isn't enough. People will only cycle if they feel safe, and that takes political will, money and years of patience. The Dutch needed all three. Anyone who wants the same result should expect the same long road.