Public Policies to Promote Sustainable Transports: Lessons from Valencia

Bicycling appears in the literature on urban mobility as a more sustainable transportation mode for future transportation, based on empirical evidence of the potential benefits of bicycling on the environment, society, and health. In this context, public interventions to promote and maintain bicycling as a sustainable practice and its positive effects are salient. This article reviews different cycling policies with respect to cycling facilities present in the literature and compares them with a case study in Valencia (Spain). We collected information on the public policies implemented in Valencia and the traffic intensity in bike lanes over detecting loops distributed around the city. The results show a strong increase in bicycle use accompanying the implementation of public policies that promote bicycling. The effectiveness of public policies and their impact on bicycling and sustainability are discussed.