The National Cycling Plan – unlike the German Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan – does not foresee the creation of a national network of cycling paths; it is conceived to approach “cycling as a system”, and thus comprises a programme for non-investment projects to promote cycling. The call for a German National Cycling Plan was modelled on the Dutch Bicycle Master Plan (Masterplan Fiets). The German master plan accounts for the federalist structure of the German government and the division of responsibilities among the federal, Länder and local governments as per the subsidiarity principle.
Joint implementation of the National Cycling Plan through the federal government, the Länder and, equally important, on site in the municipalities rests upon these four pillars:
1. The Federal Government-Länder Joint Working Group on Cycling;
2. The Internet Bicycle Portal www.nrvp.de, as a common operational platform and information pool;
3. The Bicycle Academy, which offers regional training;
4. The federal aid programme for non-investment measures.