Author(s)

Y. D. Bussière, I. Espinosa Torres, J.-L. Collomb & E. Ravalet

Abstract

Cycling in the city, a practice which had been lost progressively since the 1960s with the rapid expansion of the use of the automobile, has recently become common practice in many cities of the North where the bicycle had almost disappeared. Urban speedways and viaducts built in the 1960s are being reconsidered and even destroyed to give place to boulevards and a friendlier urban environment for pedestrians. Many examples are available: Lyon with the introduction of Velo’V in 2005, Paris with the introduction of Veli’b in 2007 and Montreal with the introduction of BIXI in 2009 are recent experiences which may be cited as best practices. Could similar policies be applicable to Latin American cities where the use of the bicycle has been progressively abandoned but seems to have now a regaining image? What could be its potential impact on diminishing greenhouse gas emissions? What could be its potential impact on tourism? After a rapid review of various experiences in Europe, Canada and Latin America, we will focus on the example of Puebla, a city of 1.5 million inhabitants in the Centre-East of Mexico, for which we collected data in an opinion survey (2007–8) on non motorized modes. This case study leads to conclusions on the feasibility of such policies in a South American context and its potential impact in terms of sustainability as well as in economic benefits via the tourist industry. An approximation of the emissions in urban transportation that can be saved by the practice of the bicycle for utilitarian an leisure purposes and multimodality Bike-Public Transport, facilitated by the rent-a-bike systems,

Keywords

cycling, rent-a-bike, GHG, tourism, economic impact, Puebla, Mexico