A person enjoying soft mobility, riding a bike on a bustling city street.

Soft mobility

  • Commuting

Walking or cycling is the most sustainable commuting alternative. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, urban noise and congestion, it is a way to exercise and stay physically and mentally healthy.

Light vehicles, including passenger cars, account for about a third of global oil demand and produce about half of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Soft mobility can significantly cut passenger car-related emissions. (1)

Key facts

0g CO2e

Emissions from walking or cycling, compared to:

  • 5.4g CO2e from riding a train
  • 37.5 CO2e from riding a public transport bus
  • 146.6g CO2e from riding a passenger car (2)

Key actions

  • #1 Bicycle parking

    Install covered and secured bicycle parking.

  • #2 Provide facilities

    Provide changing rooms and showers.

  • #3 Offer bike maintenance

    Provide basic bike maintenance kit at the office (pump, patches).

  • #4 Provide financial incentives

    Offer financial incentives (cover part of the cost of (e) bikes, provide mileage allowances).

  • #5 Organise green events

    Join or organise events such as a Bike to Work or a Bike Repair Day.

  • #6 Facilitate bicycle access

    Provide bikes for local business travels.

  • #7 Involve municipalities

    Encourage the municipality to install bike-friendly infrastructure (paths, parking, bike-friendly trains).

  • #8 Join forces

    Mutualise and join forces with other organisations following a similar approach.

To consider

  • Potential co-benefits

    • Prevention of physical diseases (diabetes and cardiovascular disease)
    • Improvement of sleep
    • Mental health benefits
    • Reduction of transportation costs
    • Reduction of congestion
  • Success conditions

    • Communication on organisational incentives
    • Raising awareness among staff
  • Prerequisites & specificities

    • Living relatively close to the workplace
    • Pedestrian and cycle paths
    • Know how to ride a bike
    • Access to bicycles
    • Access to covered and secured bicycle parking
  • Potential risks

    • Safety risks in certain areas (accidents)
    • Bicycle theft
    • Social (people’s eyes)
    • Delays in case of modal shift due to weather constraints
A group of people engaging in soft mobility, walking on a cobblestone street.
© Etienne Girardet/Unsplash.

Success stories

Bike parking at SIG

Services Industriels de Geneve installed a covered and secured bicycle parking area equipped with ​charging stations powered by photovoltaic panels, provides electric bicycles for business travels in Geneva, and ​subsidies the purchase of a public transport pass in return for giving up the car. (4)

Tools and good practices

To go further

  • Pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion

    Riding Towards Green Economy: Cycling and Green Jobs – A Joint Report by UN Environment-WHO-UNECE

    Read here

Sources

(1)  The ICCT – Light vehicles. Read here

(2) Stay grounded- What is the impact of aviation? Read here

(3) IEA – Playing my part, 2022. Read here

(4) Mobility plans: a guide for companies and institutions. Read here

(5) CERN (SCE) – Person transport demand. Read here

(6) CERN (SCE) – Bike rental. Read here

(7) CERN (SCE) – Bike sharing pilot. Read here

(8) CERN – Creation of cycle lanes on the Meyrin and Prévessin sites, 2020. Read here

(9) Infomaniak – Ecology. Read here

(10) UN General Assembly – Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 12 April 2018. Read here

(11) Club Abidjan Ville Durable. Read here

(12) Le media citoyen – Reportage Abidjan: ces écolo préfèrent le vélo, 2019. Read here

(13) Twitter – #pédalonspourlecoeur, 2021. Read here

(14) RTI officiel (Youtube) – Environnement: Plus de 100 Eco-citoyens à vélo à l’université Félix Houphouët Boigny, 2016. Watch here

(15) Le petit journal – Sama Vélo, pour la promotion du vélo au Sénégal. Read here

(16) Twitter – Sama Vélo, 2019.  Read here

(17) UN Habitat – Making commuting easier, 2019. Read here

 

Cover photo © Joshua Rawson Harris/Unsplash.