The

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

''Fietsersbond'' (Cyclists' Union) is an organisation which represents the interests of cyclists in the Netherlands by working towards the expansion and improvement of

bicycle friendly Bicycle-friendly policies and practices help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic. The level of bicycle-friendliness of an environment can be influenced by many factors including town planning and cyclin ...

infrastructure. The ''Fietsersbond'' does this by

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, and working with, all levels of government on

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, policies, and laws, etc. to improve cycling conditions and make Dutch cities, towns and country areas safer and easier to get around in for anyone who rides a bike — which is a large proportion of the population: approximately 5 million Dutch people ride every day out of the country's total population of 16.8 million. The ''Fietsersbond'' lobbies politicians and the civil service on all levels — national, provincial & local — to achieve (among other things): * excellent and direct cycling infrastructure with a constant aim for new ideas and

innovative Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

designs, * more and improved parking spaces for bikes, * effective action against bicycle theft, and * greater safety for cyclists. They provide and/or conduct: * development of a

crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

cycling route planner, maintained by volunteers
routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl
* giving advice to local, regional and national authorities about cycling policy * national and regional campaigns about cycling facilities, road safety and bike lighting. * research about cycling in the Netherlands The ''Fietsersbond'' has 32,000 members, has more than 1500 active volunteers, is organised into 150 local branches across the country, and is organised from its national office at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

which has 25 staff members. :nl:Fietsersbond (Nederland) It is a member of the

European Cyclists' Federation The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is a non-profit member-based umbrella federation of local, regional and national civil society organizations that promote cycling for both transportation and leisure. ECF has around 70 member organizati ...

(ECF) and is a principal partner of th
Dutch Cycling Embassy
It publishes a quarterly members' magazine called the ''Vogelvrije Fietser'' (literally "Free-as-a-bird Cyclist"). The organisation also conducts the '' Fietsstad'' (Cycling City) awards every few years where a Dutch town or city that has done extraordinarily well in improving and expanding its cycling infrastructure, is honoured. (Note that

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, has its own cyclists' union, also called the
Fietsersbond
'.)

References

External links

*
''Vogelvrije Fietser''
the newsletter of the Dutch ''Fietsersbond''
routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl
the Dutch ''Fietsersbond'' cycling route planner {{Authority control Cycling in the Netherlands Cycling organizations Non-profit organisations based in the Netherlands

See also

References

External links