MUBi advocates that at least 10% of the total budget for the transport sector in the State Budget for 2022 be earmarked for investments in bicycle mobility.
In order for Portugal to achieve the figures for the use of bicycles as a mode of transport and converge with the rest of Europe in terms of active mobility, investment by the Portuguese state must be on a par with other European countries. MUBi advocates that at least 10% of the total budget for the transport sector in the State Budget for 2022 be earmarked for investments in bicycle mobility.
The use of bicycles as a mode of transport in Portugal should converge with the average for the rest of EuropeBy 2030, at least one in ten journeys in Portuguese cities should be made by bicycle. These are targets set out in the National Strategy for Active Cycling Mobility (ENMAC) 2020-2030, published two years ago. There will need to be more than half a million daily cyclists by the end of the decade.
Achieving these goals requires major investment and collective effort by the State to carry out, in a decisive way and with unequivocal environmental and social benefits, a profound transformation of society in terms of urban mobility. The Portuguese state's investment in bicycle mobility will therefore have to be at least on a par with other European countries.
However, two years after the targets were set, and still without an allocated budget, ENMAC 2020-2030 is still far behind schedule and progressing at an extremely slow pace. We are in imminent danger of missing the interim targets for 2025. É more leadership and political will needed to change the mobility paradigm.
Belgium has earmarked 7% of its Recovery and Resilience Plan for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Spain has guaranteed 3 billion euros for active mobility. The Republic of Ireland has decided to allocate, over the next five years, 10% of the state budget for the transport sector to bicycle mobility and another 10% to pedestrian mobility. That's 360 million euros a year (one million a day) for active modes, in a country with half the population of Portugal.
MUBi advocates at least 10% of the total transport budget for bicycle mobility. This investment should enable accelerating the implementation of ENMAC 2020-2030 and the pursuit of its objectives.
The State Budget for 2022 should allocate funds specifically to these areas:
- Create the structures and equip teams and entities with the human, technical and financial resources necessary for management, organization and development of the Strategy.
- Hiring and training technicians in the area of active mobility.
- Support for the development and implementation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans by Portuguese municipalities.
- Campaigns for changing the culture of mobility.
- Support for municipalities to implement changes to the public space to increase the safety of active modes.
- Support for the creation of safe routes networks for cycling.
- Solutions that promote complementary use of bicycles with public transport.
- Launch of national program to encourage commuting by bicycle and reinforcement of incentives to buy bicycles.
For Rui Igreja, a member of MUBi's board, "the government and the parties and MPs in Parliament have the chance to bring about the necessary change. If we really want the Portuguese to be able to choose to use bicycles, as citizens in the rest of Europe are already doing, the bicycle can no longer be treated in State Budgets as a "child of a minor god" in transport systems“.
