Pedalling Between Cities — A Bold Idea or a Real Solution?
As cities grow and traffic congestion worsens, more people are asking a provocative question: could cycling replace — or at least seriously complement — motorised intercity transport? With rising fuel costs, climate commitments, and a booming e-bike market, the idea is no longer purely theoretical. But what does the evidence actually say?
The Scale of the Challenge
Intercity travel fundamentally differs from urban cycling. Where a typical urban commute might span 5–15 km, intercity journeys often cover 30–150 km or more. For a conventional bicycle, this is a serious physical undertaking. However, the landscape is changing fast. In Germany, over 30% of cyclists already cycle more than 30 km per week, a distance that hints at the latent appetite for longer rides. Meanwhile, the global e-bike market was valued at $61.89 billion in 2024 and is growing at over 10% annually — a clear signal that electric-assisted cycling is rapidly becoming mainstream.
E-Bikes: The Game Changer for Longer Distances
The biggest enabler of intercity cycling is undoubtedly the e-bike. E-bikes can travel at speeds of up to 45 km/h on certain models, dramatically cutting journey times compared to conventional bicycles. They also reduce physical exertion, making longer distances accessible to a much wider demographic — from older adults to less physically active commuters. Research suggests that e-bike users travel, on average, four times the distance compared to traditional cyclists, opening up a realistic range that makes inter-urban routes genuinely achievable for many people.
Folding e-bikes add another dimension to the equation. Advances in battery design and hinge technology now mean riders can fold their bikes for train travel, enabling seamless bike-and-rail combinations that can cover truly long distances without relying solely on pedal power.
Policy and Infrastructure: The Missing Link
Technology alone is not enough. Infrastructure and political will are equally critical. Encouragingly, 2024 marked a watershed moment in European policy: the European Declaration on Cycling was signed by the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission, formally recognising cycling as a fully-fledged mode of transport. This was the first official EU-wide cycling policy, containing 8 principles and 36 commitments to promote cycling development.
At a national level, countries are starting to act. The United Kingdom’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan ambitiously aims to shift half of all urban journeys to walking or cycling by 2030. Yet critics point out that even with good policy intentions, implementation often falls short — a recent Australian study found that despite significant investment and political support, newly built cycling infrastructure suffered from substantial design deficiencies, resulting in low and variable usage.
Key Challenges to Overcome
- Safety on open roads: Intercity routes frequently involve high-speed roads with little or no dedicated cycling infrastructure, creating genuine danger for cyclists.
- Weather and terrain: Rain, wind, hills, and extreme temperatures remain real barriers, particularly on longer routes without shelter or rest facilities.
- Charging infrastructure: For e-bikes, the availability of reliable charging points along intercity corridors is still far from adequate in most countries.
- Integration with public transport: Carrying bikes on trains remains inconsistent across Europe, though a new EU regulation establishing a legal minimum number of bicycle spaces per train came into effect in June 2025 — a significant step forward.
- Journey time: Even at 25–30 km/h, a 60 km intercity trip takes over two hours each way, which is impractical as a daily commute for most people.
Where It Makes Sense Today
Intercity cycling is already a practical reality for certain corridors — particularly where cities are relatively close together (under 50 km), connected by flat terrain, and served by good cycling paths. The Netherlands, Denmark, and parts of Germany already see significant numbers of people cycling between smaller towns and cities. In Copenhagen, 37% of residents cycle to work, demonstrating what becomes possible when infrastructure and culture align.
For longer distances, the most realistic model today is multimodal travel — cycling to a train station, boarding a train with your bike, and cycling from the destination station onward. This approach combines the flexibility of cycling with the speed of rail, and it is gaining momentum across Europe.
The Verdict: Feasible, but Conditional
Cycling as a standalone intercity transport mode is feasible today only in specific circumstances — short distances, flat terrain, good infrastructure, and suitable weather. For the majority of intercity journeys, it works best as part of a multimodal system. However, with accelerating e-bike adoption, stronger EU policy frameworks, and growing investment in cycling infrastructure, the window of what is “feasible” is expanding year by year. The question is no longer if cycling can play a meaningful role in intercity mobility — it is how quickly we build the systems to make it the norm.
