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Tiefensee calls for expansion of urban bike traffic

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Tiefensee calls for expansion of urban bike traffic
Photo: DPA

Transportation Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee on Thursday called for a dramatic expansion of bicycle use in Germany's cities as a means to combat climate change.

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Tiefensee told daily newsapaper Frankfurter Rundschau that within the next decade a third of all short trips in German urban areas currently covered by car should be taken by bike instead.

“I believe that a lot of it has to do simply with the bad habit of hopping in the car even when we are only travelling short distances,” he said.

Tiefensee said 90 percent of car trips in German cities were shorter than six kilometres, making it possible cut CO2 emissions by 7.5 million tones each year if only a third of those were taken by bike.

“I find this vision of zero emissions captivating,” he said, adding that urban planners need to do more to accommodate cyclists.

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