{"id":8717,"date":"2026-09-15T12:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/?p=8717"},"modified":"2026-09-16T00:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:43:07","slug":"prominent-besetztes-veloforum-bundesrat-albert-roesti-und-parteispitzen-in-der-bernexpo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/prominent-besetztes-veloforum-bundesrat-albert-roesti-und-parteispitzen-in-der-bernexpo\/","title":{"rendered":"High-profile line-up at the Veloforum \u2013 Federal Councillor Albert R\u00f6sti and party leaders at BernExpo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 240 experts from the worlds of politics, public administration, business, academia and sport gathered on Monday at the Veloforum Schweiz Suisse Svizzera in Bern to discuss the path towards a cycling revolution. Federal Councillor Albert R\u00f6sti believes Switzerland is well on the way to implementing the Cycle Route Act. Christophe Najdovski, the former deputy mayor of Paris, reported on how the \u00abPlan V\u00e9lo\u00bb is being implemented in the French metropolis. Velosuisse acted as a partner organisation for the event and contributed the industry\u2019s perspective to the various discussions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Councillor Albert R\u00f6sti attended the fourth edition of the National Cycling Forum in person for the first time. In his speech, the Minister for Transport described the bicycle as a \u00abhuge advantage for local transport\u00bb and as the most efficient mode of transport over short and medium distances. He reaffirmed the aim of the Cycling Roadmap to double the number of kilometres cycled by 2035. The minister called for a little more patience and, in response to critical voices from Parliament, noted that Switzerland was well on track with the implementation of the Cycle Paths Act. \u00abAlmost all cantons now have a dedicated cycling unit, and with the exception of two or three, all cantons are on track.\u00bb<\/p>\n

During the \u00abVelefantenrunde\u00bb, Lisa Mazzone (President of the Greens), Philipp Matthias Bregy (President of Die Mitte), J\u00fcrg Grossen (President of the GLP), Benjamin M\u00fchlemann (Co-President of the FDP), David Roth (Vice-President of the SP) and Henrique Schneider (Secretary-General of the SVP) were asked about their views on the Cycling Roadmap and the implementation of the Cycle Paths Act. With the exception of Schneider (\u00abPromoting cycling is not a priority for the SVP\u00bb), the politicians are in agreement regarding the objectives. However, when it came to the question of how these objectives should be achieved, significant differences emerged. Mazzone, Roth and Grossen believe the federal government should take on more responsibility. Bregy argues that there should be less ideology and more tax incentives. M\u00fchlemann, on the other hand, advocates for better framework conditions rather than regulations.<\/p>\n

Paris: From 40,000 cars to zero<\/strong>
\nChristophe Najdovski, Deputy Mayor of Paris until 2026, demonstrated what can be achieved within a few years if the political will is there. For him and Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the focus was on the redesign of public spaces. \u00abIn 90 per cent of cases, a car carries just one person. It was therefore clear to us that pedestrians, cyclists and public transport must be given more space.\u00bb The 3.3-kilometre-long expressway on the right bank of the Seine \u2013 used by over 40,000 cars every day \u2013 was turned into a pedestrian zone overnight. Use of Paris\u2019s cycle paths increased by 166 per cent between 2016 and 2020, and by a further 47 per cent by 2025. \u2019It works if you want it to.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Michael Liebi, President of the Swiss Cycling Conference, warned against excuses such as: \u00abWe\u2019re not Paris.\u00bb Whilst this might seem obvious, he said, it is the wrong way to think. The cycling revolution has also been a success in the Netherlands, Denmark, Strasbourg and Freiburg im Breisgau. The Cycle Paths Act has laid the foundations. What is needed now is proper planning: \u00abIf we treat cycling as a niche, we\u2019ll end up with niche solutions. If we think big about cycling, we\u2019ll end up with more people-friendly towns and cities.\u00bb<\/p>\n

Matthias Aebischer, Director of Transport for the City of Bern, announced plans to give the federal capital\u2019s cycling infrastructure \u2013 which is already good by Swiss standards \u2013 a red makeover. He also intends to remove a car lane at the Bollwerk, as has already been done on the Lorrainebr\u00fccke, to make way for cycle traffic.<\/p>\n

Greater safety is the aim of the \u2018Velowende\u2019 initiative<\/strong>
\nStefan Siegrist, Director of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (bfu), presented the latest accident figures: In 2025, 1,257 cyclists and e-bike riders were seriously injured in Switzerland, and 44 died \u2013 with the trend for e-bikes on the rise. Ursula Wyss, former Head of Transport for the City of Bern and now an urban planning consultant, called for a \u00abforgiving\u00bb cycling infrastructure. The infrastructure and transport system must be designed in such a way that cyclists aged between 8 and 80 can travel safely and remain unharmed even if they make a mistake. \u201cIf the general speed on the road exceeds 30 km\/h, cycle lanes should be separated from motorised traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel, comprising Evi Allemann (Member of the Cantonal Government of Bern), Christian B\u00e4ttig (Vice-President of Velosuisse), Lorenzo Cascioni (Deputy Director of ASTRA), Dimitri Marincek (University of Lausanne), Nils Planzer (CEO of Planzer), Siegrist and Wyss, the discussion centred on how accident figures could be reduced. The range of proposed solutions extended from better training for road users through to technological advances, infrastructural adjustments, speed limits, a mandatory minimum lateral distance of 1.5 metres between cars and bicycles \u2013 as is already mandatory in neighbouring countries \u2013 to a possible compulsory helmet law.<\/p>\n

The figures \u2013 or rather, the way they are collected \u2013 were also a topic of discussion, as accident reports from the various police forces in Switzerland are not standardised. B\u00e4ttig therefore described the figures as \u00abgorillas in the fog\u00bb. However, the reports are soon to be brought up to date, and trend vehicles such as e-scooters will also be recorded separately.<\/p>\n

Inclusion is not taken for granted<\/strong>
\nAt the inclusion panel discussion, Heidi Hanselmann, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation, and two-time Paralympic gold medallist Manuela Sch\u00e4r highlighted the limitations faced by people with spinal cord injuries on cycle paths. Sch\u00e4r said that, whilst riding her handbike, she often encounters situations where she comes up against obstacles that are almost impossible, or even completely impossible, to overcome. Hanselmann identified an overarching problem here. \u00abInclusion hasn\u2019t yet taken root in people\u2019s minds and isn\u2019t regarded as a matter of course,\u00bb she noted, calling on politicians to always carry out an inclusion impact assessment when developing cycling infrastructure.<\/p>\n

During three breakout sessions in the afternoon, discussions centred on coexistence on cycle paths, tax incentives and company bicycles, as well as the reasons for the long journey from planning to implementation of the Cycle Paths Act. The event concluded with an inclusive cycling dance show.<\/p>\n

A positive outcome, but there is still a lot to be done<\/strong>
\nNo shortcut to turning the tide for cycling was found at the Swiss Cycling Forum. Switzerland is still some way off its target of doubling the number of kilometres cycled. Nevertheless, the hosts\u00ab conclusion is a positive one. \u00bbThe lively debates have shown how important regular dialogue and networking between stakeholder groups is,\u00ab said Flavia Wasserfallen, co-president of the Swiss Bike Park Foundation. Swiss Cycling President Luana Bergamin noted that such dialogue helps people to understand others\u00bb perspectives and gradually find common ground, so that the enormous potential of cycling in Switzerland can be better utilised. Both figures agree that pressure must be maintained on politicians: \u201cAlmost 74 per cent of Swiss voters said \u2018yes\u2019 to the Cycle Paths Act. This is a clear signal that obliges us as a society to significantly improve the infrastructure nationwide \u2013 as stipulated in the text of the Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

15 September 2026<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around 240 experts from the worlds of politics, public administration, business, academia and sport gathered on Monday at the Veloforum Schweiz Suisse Svizzera in Bern to discuss how to bring about a cycling revolution.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8717"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8724,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8717\/revisions\/8724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.velosuisse.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}