Bike-friendly cities around the world

Cycling is kind to the environment so it is an excellent way to take in the city. Here are 4 bike-friendly cities adopting this green mode of transport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Malmö, Sweden

Cycling in Malmö is enjoyable due to the relaxed and easy-going manner of most cyclists. The calming atmosphere makes it a great experience, even for nervous riders. A highly recommended bike route is from Ribersborg park to Limhamn Harbour, where riders can take a few good photos of the famous Öresund Bridge.

Beijing, China

In the 1970s, bicycles were the main mode of transportation for people in Beijing. However, dedicated (专用的) cycle paths for cyclists were limited. Only in May 2019, did the city launch its first achievement in cycling facility is worth a shout-out for a city with over 21 million people.

Bogota, Colombia

Bogota first introduced the concept of cycle path in 1974. The idea sees cars being banned from city roads every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., helping cyclists, runners and walkers exercise safely. Since then, the city has slowly but steadily expanded the program, including setting up dedicated cycle paths. As a result, Bogota now has 550km of bike paths and is the most bike-friendly city in Latin America.

Montréal, Canada

Montréal has already established protected bike paths since the 1980s. BIXI is the city’s bike-sharing system with 9,600 bikes and almost 800 stations. Cyclists can make their visit to the Tour de L’lle Montreal, a yearly bike ride where cyclists take to the streets for a day without any other vehicles being allowed on the roads.

Think of London and you will probably remember the bright red double－decker buses. Think of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, and the noisy tuk－tuks may come to mind. Think of San Francisco and you might see the city’s cable cars.

Imagining what these cities would look like without those is difficult. They are symbols of these cities that make them different. However, these city symbols are not always so well loved by their city leaders. City leaders want what is best for their city, which often means the most modern transport.

In Bangkok, city leaders have banned (禁止) tuk－tuks because they consider them noisy and polluting. However, the ban has largely been unsuccessful as it has not changed Thai people’s love for the cheap tuk－tuks over taxis.

In London the city’s first ever mayor (市长) removed the red double－decker buses, which he thought were old fashioned.His plan worked, but Londoners were unhappy to lose the nice old buses they believed represented the best of their city. They made their unhappiness felt when the mayor came up for re－election. Most Londoners voted for his competitor, who promised to bring the bus back.

As for San Francisco, several cable cars are still in use but mainly as tourist attractions. They are too slow to be used for anything other than scenic trips.

City transport symbols may have a place in their city people’s hearts, but it seems they are increasingly out of step with the modern world. As Londoners have proved, their continued life depends on people’s willingness to fight for their survival.

Every day in China, about 200 million children go to school. Many of them take school buses. What should we do to keep these students safe on the road?

On April 5, the State Council (国务院) published new rules about school bus safety. These new rules are stricter than the old ones.

Under the new rules, local governments must make sure that students go to nearby schools or boarding (寄宿的) schools to reduce traffic risks. Also, local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.

From now on, school buses have a speed limit (限制) of 80 km/h on highways and 60km/h on normal roads. While on the road, other cars must let school buses go first.

The new rules also say that school buses-must never be overloaded (超载的).

There are many other rules as well. A school bus must have more than seven seats. On each bus, there must be at least one adult to keep an eye on the kids. Each school bus must have a fire extinguisher (灭火器), a first aid kit (急救箱) and a GPS.

Last year, a series of school bus accidents happened in China. To stop such accidents, the Central Government decided to strengthen (加强) the rules for school buses.

The. most serious accident happened in Gansu in November, when a nine seat minibus crashed (碰撞). There were 62 children inside, and 21 of them died.