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ADFC- Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad ClubThe ADFC - Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad Club is the responsible work package leader for WP 6. They are following two tasks: On the one hand to give their expertise on ‘cycling to work’ to the partners, who transfer it to their cities and countries, and on the other hand to develop a new tool to foster cycling.
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ADFC New Residents’ Tours, Germany
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVESWhen people move house, they reorganize their mobility behaviour; a great moment to consider switching to an active, healthy transport mode: cycling.
A guided cycle tour showing key city features and main cycling paths & infrastructure is a good opportunity to let people experience the advantages of cycling. Some local ADFC groups (German Cyclists’ Fed.) offered such tours since 2000. Their experiences were collected, elaborated & spread to many cities by ADFC. Twice a year, activists gather to exchange experiences & to train new guides. ADFC now offers “new residents†tours in many cities (40 in 2010), ranging from 2 to 60 participants.
IMPLEMENTATIONThe conditions of the tours vary with local circumstances and tour guides. The standard concept proved to be unrealistic. In towns the tour can show the whole town; often in cooperation with the municipality. In cities there are several tours in different city quarters: some guides concentrate on history; others prefer traffic or leisure time themes. All tour guides are volunteers from local ADFC groups. Participants pay a small fee (€ 2 - 5) and are happy to do so.
CONCLUSIONSThe main obstacle was how to inform & attract new residents. Only the municipality has the addresses, so it is crucial to have them as partners. Finding enough people only using flyers, posters, internet was only successful in big cities. The activities were supported by the EU Public Health Programme (project LIFE CYCLE).
Some key factors worth considering when planning such tours:
- Choose a central theme (e.g. best cycling connections, town history, beer garden tour)
- Find partners. It is hard to find enough publicity on your own. The best partner is the municipality (access to all new residents’ addresses). Other partners may be tourist information, companies, a university or church
- Make the tour attractive. A VIP guiding the tour, experts commenting on visited sites, less know places, culinary highlights … End the tour at a cafe or a beer garden!
- New residents find communication & socializing more important than cycling. The tour guide must be open-minded, keen to talk to people to give them a good impression of the city. A good idea is to have more than one guide (more small talk).
- Plan at least 3 months for preparations. Publicity, press work, partner contacts, guides, choosing & booking locations can take a long time to organize.
- Be prepared to have inexperienced cyclists. Tell them how to cycle in a large group. The tour should not exceed 20 km or 3 h. Stop frequently.
The concept of new residents’ tours has proven to be successful and will be spread further. It could be done in any German city and most northern & western EU countries without too much adaptation. The idea of such tours is attractive for other target groups, too. Over half of the participants were long-term residents and visitors who wanted to see the town from a new perspective. Such tours could be interesting for new employees at large companies
and for universities.
Author & Contact person:
Raymond Fismer
LIFE CYCLE project manager
E-mail: raymond.fismer@adfc.de
ADFC - Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad Club
www.adfc.de
Tel.: + 49 421 34629-17
Additional documents (in German):
ADFC New Residents’ Tours |
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