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High speed intercity bike travel? Dutch could open 45kmph e-bike paths for commuters

Why take the train when the bike battery could take the strain?

The Dutch could be on track to get their own super-fast e-bike freeway, allowing commuters to travel the 30km between Groningen, Haren, Assen and Tynaarlo faster than ever before under (mostly) their own steam.

E-bikes are increasingly popular in Holland, and with speeds up to 45 kmph city authorities are looking at ways to exploit their use for intercity transport.

Henk Brink, a deputy from Drenthe, told Die Krant van Midden-Drenthe, “New rapid cycle infrastructure could be a nice addition to all measures that we have already taken in the field of cycling and accessibility in the Groningen-Assen region.”

The new paths could include features like sensors, alternative power generation, self-healing pavement and asphalt that glows in the dark.

In northern Holland, an energy-generating cycle path recently opened, a road that converts sunlight into electricity in the town of Krommenie, 25 kilometres from Amsterdam.

It’s the second major innovation in road surfaces that we’ve seen from the Netherlands this week, the other being glow-in-the-dark road markings we reported on here.

Called SolaRoad, the pilot installation is 70 metres in length – by 2016, it will have been extended to 100 metres – and comprises modules measuring 2.5 metres by 3.5 metres.

Those in one direction of travel have solar panels beneath a 1 centimetre thick layer of tempered glass, said to be able to withstand the weight of a lorry.

The modules in the other direction don’t have the solar panels, and are being used to test a variety of surfaces.
But the Dutch are not the first to embrace high speed intercity bike travel.

We recently reported how the Belgian province of East Flanders says it is prioritising the development of an extensive network of ‘cycle highways’ that will link towns and cities across the region to encourage people to switch to two wheels by providing safe and quick routes to shops, schools and workplaces.

Using a mixture of existing cycle routes, some of which will be upgraded, plus new ones to provide links where those are currently missing, the highways will be at least three metres wide with a design speed of 30 kilometres an hour, and are aimed at people undertaking trips of between 5 and 20 kilometres.

They will have uniform signage and lighting where appropriate, and the intention is to make them as straight and flat and free from conflict with other road users wherever possible, including secure junctions, says the government of the province, which is home to just under 1.5 million people.

Peter Hertog, responsible for mobility in the province’s government, the Deputatie, said: “At the moment many cyclists experience their routes to work, school, the supermarket, the station or even to visit friends as unsafe, uncomfortable, or with too many detours.

"We want to change that with the construction of this bike highways," he continued, adding that the overarching aim is to increase the functionality of using bikes to get around.

"The vast majority of our daily trips are perfect for bicycles,” he said.  “Electric bicycles mean even more sites can be reached within a shorter time.

“On a bicycle highway, it is possible to travel safely and comfortably from say Deinze, Lokeren or Wetteren to Ghent in half an hour."

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15 comments

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ronin | 9 years ago
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A smooth road without cars...as a cyclist what more could you want...other than cake  4

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hirsthirst | 9 years ago
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a genuine two-speed Europe

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pants | 9 years ago
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it'd be fun to have a draft taxi, you pay a small fee for a large person on a e-bike to pace you.

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Username | 9 years ago
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Now that would be a 'cycle super highway'.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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Motor-pacing on your good bike could be a super-quick commute!

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CXR94Di2 | 9 years ago
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When I was in Holland last year, there were many scooters who use the cycleways aswell as cyclists, which was a little unnerving with the difference in speed. If they can move mopeds to onto e bike routes, the better

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harrybav | 9 years ago
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Motorways for bikes! We really are way behind in the uk.

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EnglishmanAbroad | 9 years ago
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Great I can't wait to see all the doddery well to do pensioners wobbling all over the place at 40 kph here in Münster  2 Electric bikes are good that they can help people carry on cycling, but some old people simply aren't safe enough to be going that quick.

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shay cycles replied to EnglishmanAbroad | 9 years ago
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EnglishmanAbroad wrote:

Great I can't wait to see all the doddery well to do pensioners wobbling all over the place at 40 kph here in Münster  2 Electric bikes are good that they can help people carry on cycling, but some old people simply aren't safe enough to be going that quick.

Yes, that must be why we have them driving around in cars.

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mike the bike replied to EnglishmanAbroad | 9 years ago
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EnglishmanAbroad wrote:

...... Electric bikes are good that they can help people carry on cycling, but some old people simply aren't safe enough to be going that quick.

We are both elderly cyclists but it has been a number of years since my wife complained about me arriving too quickly.

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ron611087 | 9 years ago
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I owned an electric bike in an attempt to extend my commute to a distance that my legs and age were unwilling to do on a daily basis. I abandoned the concept because I became frustrated at being limited to 15 mph. There was no net energy benefit in electric assist if you spend most of your energy trying to maintain a heavy bike above 15 mph with no assistance.

45 km/h sounds great but do we have space for 3 tiers of segregated infrastructure when we don't at present even have 2?

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BigManLittleHair replied to ron611087 | 9 years ago
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not legal, at all, but you should think about hacking/chipping your ebike. It's pathetic the speed they're limited to.

BUT the article highlights a key point, you'd be a just like the morning tour de commute twats IF you pass regular joes like me at insane speeds without giving me the space that's decent.

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Ramz replied to BigManLittleHair | 9 years ago
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BigManLittleHair wrote:

not legal, at all, but you should think about hacking/chipping your ebike. It's pathetic the speed they're limited to.

That is not necessary - you can buy e-bikes that go this fast in the UK but you need to register them, and you need a licence and helmet to ride them on the road.

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musicalmarc | 9 years ago
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as long as normal bikes and drafting is allowed it sounds like fun!

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ct | 9 years ago
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Isn't that simply repeating the mistakes of modifying roads to suit cars?

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