- Project duration: 01.10.2025 – 31.12.2027
- Funding: German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV),
573.805 EUR - Partners: NELA e. V.
- Participating municipalities: Wolfsburg, Salzgitter
Does Germany remain a car country, or does it have potential for alternative mobility? The AutoRad project examines the extent to which cycling can gain a positive image in regions where people strongly identify with automobility. The project aims to generate impulses for an “image transfer” through which cycling can develop a more positive perception and become part of regional identities. The project investigates the relationships between regional identity, the public image of cycling, and mobility practices across different population groups. On this basis, communicative and participatory measures are developed that contribute to strengthening positive perceptions of cycling and thereby facilitate an image transfer.
AutoRad relies on co-creative processes in which appropriate measures (such as poster campaigns, events, competitions, etc.) are developed in close collaboration with residents of the city of Wolfsburg as well as local stakeholders in their role as “identity shapers.” The findings are prepared in a practice-oriented way and are intended to support municipalities across Germany in promoting cycling.
- Project duration: 01.9.2025 – 31.8.2028
- Funding: German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV),
596.305 EUR - Partners: ILS–Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung, Dortmund, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
The BMV research project Fahrrad–Medien–Milieus (FMM) examines media representations of cycling and investigates the interrelations between bicycle use, media consumption, and social milieus. The aim is to foster a socially inclusive cycling culture by challenging stereotypical media portrayals of cycling and developing appealing, milieu-sensitive communication strategies. To achieve this, the project team brings together insights from mobility research, social research, and media studies for the first time.
Its multimethod approach combines quantitative surveys, media analysis, as well as qualitative cultural probes and interview-based studies. The results are translated into practice-oriented outputs to support stakeholders across Germany in developing target-group-specific communication strategies for cycling promotion. The project is carried out jointly by ILS Research gGmbH (lead partner), Ruhr University Bochum, and Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, and is supported by partners from municipalities as well as the film and media industry. FMM is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) as part of the implementation of the National Cycling Plan (NRVP 3.0) from September 2025 to August 2028.
- Project duration: 01.10.2025 – 30.09.2028
- Funding: German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV)
- Partners: Hochschule Harz, DB Infra GO AG, Outdooractive AG
This research project investigates the causes of declining bicycle use among young people aged 16 to 29. This life stage is characterised by major biographical transitions, such as starting university or vocational training, obtaining a driving licence, entering the workforce, or moving to a new city.
Based on these findings, the project develops target-group-specific (digital) measures designed to support sustained motivation for cycling. In addition, existing cycling promotion measures are evaluated with regard to their effectiveness for this target group. A structured assessment framework is developed to help further refine and improve such measures in a targeted way. The results are prepared in a practice-oriented manner to support stakeholders across Germany in promoting cycling.
The project is conducted by Harz University of Applied Sciences (lead partner), Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, and the industry partners Outdooractive AG and DB InfraGO AG. LENKER is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) as part of the implementation of the National Cycling Plan for the period October 2025 to September 2028.
- Project duration: 1.10.2023 – 28.2.2027
- Funding: German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV),
1.000.900 EUR - Partners: Niedersächsisches Kultusministerium, Klima-Bündnis e. V., flow.d GmbH
In the participatory project “Bike to School – how cool”, the focus lies on linking mobility education with democracy education and media literacy. The project aims to develop digital tools to promote cycling among children and young people in schools, as well as for mobility education in classroom teaching and project work in schools across Lower Saxony. These tools will be compiled on an online platform, Bike to School, and made available to all schools in the region as a project outcome.
From the outset, the project follows a co-creative approach in collaboration with selected pilot schools. Ideas are jointly developed, tested, and implemented, with a strong emphasis on enabling meaningful participation. Interested students and teachers from the pilot schools are involved in working groups during the development phase of the tools. All pilot schools contribute to testing and evaluating the outcomes.
Despite established systems for assessing and evaluating the condition of roads, there is still limited information available on the quality and condition of existing cycling infrastructure in rural areas. A standardised approach to surveying and evaluating the condition of these cycling paths has not yet been widely adopted, even though they can offer significant attractiveness for commuters in peri-urban and rural regions, as well as for recreational and tourist cycling.
In collaboration with Hochschule RheinMain, Technical University of Applied Sciences Lübeck, and the company XenomatiX based in Leuven (Belgium), researchers at Ostfalia University are developing a solution to address this gap. Using an automated system for recording and evaluating rural cycling infrastructure, all paths designated for cycling can be assessed in a comparable way. This enables the identification of priorities for maintenance and the targeted allocation of financial resources to improve and optimise cycling infrastructure. The resulting aZuR data can also serve as a basis for improving digital applications, for example by enabling route suggestions tailored to different bicycle types.