* Feature photo above courtesy of the Dutch Cycling Embassy
Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are helping shape the future of cycling and urban mobility around the world. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, they now live in the Netherlands and serve as consultants and ambassadors promoting Dutch cycling, urban mobility, and transformative city design worldwide.
I recently had the pleasure of talking with Chris about their personal experiences after transitioning from North America to the Netherlands, the role of cycling in society, and the impact of e-bike technology. Highlights of that conversation are in the Q&A interview below.
Chris is the communications manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, a public/private network that shares the best of Dutch cycling knowledge worldwide. Melissa is a consultant with Mobycon, a global transportation and urban design consultancy. Melissa and Chris are the authors of two books, “The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality: Building the Cycling City,” (2018) and “Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives” (2021).
Here are highlights from our conversation:
Q: You moved your family from North America to the Netherlands in 2019. What was behind this decision?
A: One motivation was affordability. Vancouver was getting increasingly expensive, but we couldn’t find a smaller city in North America that offered a similar lifestyle. Professionally, the Dutch Cycling Embassy and Mobycon made us job offers we couldn’t refuse. It gave us a global platform for advocating for cycling and better city design.
Q: You moved to the Netherlands with your two children. How has it worked out for them and for your family?
A: Even with high expectations, everything here in the Netherlands has exceeded.
Children learn young to ride a bike and navigate traffic in the Netherlands. Photo courtesy of the Dutch Cycling Embassy.
Q: How does the cycling culture in the Netherlands change life for young people?
A: Teenagers cycle more in the Netherlands than any other demographic; 60 percent of their trips are by bike. Cycling is something bigger than transportation. It’s freedom. It’s social connections. It’s learning to grow up outside the watchful eye of mom and dad and learning how to make mistakes and be exposed to the weather and learning some resilience. We miss out on all of that when we raise the kids with the parents as proverbial taxi drivers. In just two generations, we (North American families) have gone from freedom for children and teens to children who are stuck at home and dependent on their parents.
Q: In my recent visit to the Netherlands, I witnessed first-hand the older children and teens enjoying the incredible freedom that biking provides. It reminded me of my own childhood days long ago in the U.S. Who else in society benefits from the bike culture?
A: The Netherlands gives the elderly, the disabled, the low-income the chance to continue to participate in society and all of its benefits. It’s an environment built for human beings, not for cars.
Amsterdam’s bike paths allow those with mobility needs to still move about and stay active. Photo courtesy of the Dutch Cycling Embassy.
Q: I rode an e-bike while in the Netherlands and saw plenty of them on the streets. How popular are e-bikes there?
A: Per capita, the Netherlands has more e-bikes than any other country in the world. For the past four or five years, electric bikes have outsold non-electric bikes. If I remember correctly, there are about eight million e-bikes in the country out of a total of 24 million bikes. Almost a third of the bikes here are electric.
Q: That’s a lot of bicycles! How have e-bikes impacted cycling in the Netherlands?
A: They serve a very important purpose in extending the range of cycling and allowing more cycling, more frequently, and at farther distances, replacing car trips of up to 15 kilometers, or 10 miles, not just within cities but also between cities.
Q: In the U.S., we have Class 3 e-bikes that are somewhat controversial because they have a higher top speed of 28 mph. In the Netherlands, I understand you have something similar, the speed pedelec. How are they treated there?
A: Speed pedelecs are less than one percent of all e-bike sales in the Netherlands and they have extra requirements, including registration, a license plate, and insurance. Riders of pedelecs must wear helmets. They are basically treated like a car. They are not allowed to use dedicated cycle paths but must use the roads as if they were a motor vehicle.
Q: To the rest of us, the Netherlands seems like the perfect cycling culture. What challenges do you face and what’s in the future?
A: Congestion and lack of parking are the main challenges now. So many people are using bikes that cities struggle to keep up with the demand. Wider paths are one solution. The national government is recommending bike paths be 2.3 meters in width per direction, or about 7 1/2 feet. A bi-directional (two-way) path would need to be 15 feet in width. We’re also building higher-speed paths designed for longer cycling trips, 15 to 20 kilometers between cities. These cycling superhighways are designed to be time-competitive with driving a car.
Q: Thank you, Chris. I must say I’m a bit jealous. You and Melissa have fascinating jobs, live in a beautiful country, and are making such a positive contribution to the worldwide future of cycling, urban mobility, and city design. Thanks for what you do, and thank you for taking time to share your thoughts with me and my readers.
For More Information:
You can learn more about Melissa and Chris on their website, modacitylife.com, or by following them on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube. Look for them on social media under “Melissa & Chris Bruntlett” or “modacitylife.”
You may also wish to read: “Experiencing a Netherlands Bike Tour”
