Cycling will increase even more in the coming years due to two recent innovations. Bike sharing has been around in various forms for decades, but it is now growing at truly extraordinary rates. From the first large-scale automated system in Lyon, France in 2005 (1500 bikes), bike sharing expanded to 1286 systems in the world as of May 2017, with a total of 3,415,750 bikes (Fishman, 2016; Meddin, 2017). Bike sharing greatly increases the availability of bikes, the flexibility of routing, and access to and from public transport. Bike-sharing systems are continually advancing technologically, thus enabling their future integration into comprehensive mobility packages, including public transport, car sharing and Uber-like taxi services, all of which provide alternatives to the private car.

The other dramatic development has been the rapid adoption of electric-assist bikes (E-bikes), first in China and now in northern Europe. The total number of E-bikes rose from only 290,000 in 2000 to 9.9 million in 2005, 30.7 million in 2010 and 35.3 million in 2016 (Campbell, Cherry, Ryerson, & Yang, 2016). Over 90% of those E-bikes are in China, but the number of E-bikes in northern Europe has been rising sharply: from only 98,000 in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2016, a 15-fold increase in ten years (CONEBI, 2016). In both the Netherlands and Belgium, E-bikes accounted for 30% of all bike sales in 2016. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, they accounted for 10–15% of all bike sales.

E-bikes provide a more competitive alternative to the private car, as they are faster than mechanical bikes, thus facilitating cycling over longer distances. They also make cycling easier in hilly terrains and with heavy loads. Especially in urban areas with many intersections, E-bikes assist cyclists when having to start up again after waiting at stop signs and traffic lights. Seniors and long-distance work commuters might seem like the most likely customers for E-bikes. However, the experts we interviewed (via email) in the Netherlands and Belgium emphasised the increasing popularity of E-bikes among all groups and for various trip purposes. To some extent, E-bikes are substituting for mechanical cycling, but they also open up new markets that did not previously exist, getting people on bikes who had not previously cycled. Moreover, studies show that E-bikes are far more energy-efficient and less polluting than motorcycles and cars; so they contribute to overall transport sustainability.

Although less dramatic than the stunning growth in bike sharing and E-bikes, real-time information technology for cycling has been steadily improving, providing better guidance on optimal routes, parking locations, bike-sharing locations and availability, and public transport stops.

Perhaps most promising for the future of cycling is the documented shift in cultural attitudes and preferences towards less reliance on the automobile and increased demand for living in mixed-use, compact developments in or near the city centre (Goodwin & van Dender, 2013). Many city centres in Europe and North America have experienced a revival and, in particular, the influx of new residents in their 20s and 30s who are more willing than their parents to walk, bike, and ride public transport. That cultural shift in locational and travel preferences is likely to facilitate further growth in cycling.