Preface

Wlien it comes to traffic and transport, every country has as many 'experts' as it has inhabitants, because virtuahy evcryone is a road-user. For the 'real' experts, traffic and
transport is their work. These experts are employed by government bodies, interest groups, consultancy firms, research institutes and companies and they have a great deal
of knowledge. A lot qfcycling is done in the Netherlands. In its Tweede Structuurschema Verkeer en Vervoer (Second Stmcture Schemefor Traffic and Transport), the Dutch government has expressed the wish that even more use will bc made of
the bicycle in the future. To initiate this aim from central government, the Bicycle Master Plan project group was formed in 1990 by the Ministry of Transport, Public Works
and Water Management. Discussions about traffic and transport reveal that the facts about bicycle traffic are not ahvays known. Possibly for this reason, insufficient attention
is sometimes paid to the bicycle in these discussions. By publishing this brochure, the Bicycle Maéter' Plan project group is hoping tofill in some ofthegaps in thefactual
knowledge. Only to some extent, as therc are of course many more iuteresting facts on bicycle traffic. This publication contains more than just a seleüion of important data on the cyclist, bicycle and cycling. The bicycle has deliberately been placed in context among the other modes of transport. In other words, the bicycle as part of the entire traffic and transport system. Some basic information such as population data has also been included. Many other countries are showing an interest in what is happening in the Netherlands in the field of bicycle traffic. By incorporating an English text in addition to the Dutch text, interested parties in other countries eau also find out about cycling in the Netherlands.