In setting up the promotion circle supported by the Ministry of Transport, AGFK-BW intend to initiate and promote a constructive dialogue about the future of local and regional mobility between economy, institutions as well as politics and administration in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The parties involved want to promote politics in favour of cyclists and pedestrians and to reshape cities for people.
Potential members and dialogue partners of the promotion circle as not only the representatives of companies, but also members of the state government, business associations, institutions, district authorities, mayors, professors and futurologists. Their exchange is to create new projects that can make Baden-Wuerttemberg’s local communities more pedestrian and cycle-friendly and to improve our air and climate. The joint set up of research or model projects for a sustainable change in traffic are thinkable.
Winfried Hermann, Member of the Landtag, Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Minister of Transport states that he is glad the Work Group Cycle and Pedestrian-Friendly Local Communities in Baden-Wuerttemberg had succeeded in founding a promotion circle. In the past years they had created the political context for a climate-friendly future of mobility. It were now just the right time to provide a broad support – among the decision makers of the innovative mobility industry and in particular in the cycle industry. Because a sustainable change in traffic policy could only be set up with an alliance between industry, politics and society.
Guenter Riemer, Mayor and chairman of AGFK in Baden-Wuerttemberg stated that the industry would provide huge possibilities for the promotion of cycling and walking which would result in a multitude of extensive opportunities at the same time. With the foundation of the AGFK promotion circle they intended to activate this potential and give the entrepreneurs in Baden-Wuerttemberg the possibility to get involved actively in the process of changing traffic politics.
To cover the range of the promotion of cycling and walking as wide as possible, companies and institutions of the most various fields have the possibility to join the new business circle for the promotion of innovative and sustainable mobility. These are for example trade associations, health insurance funds and companies of the health promotion, of the cycle and cycle component industry as well as suppliers of sportswear and outdoor clothing, bicycle parking facilities, traffic planning and traffic modelling offices, bike hire and sharing companies, service providers, outfitters or research institutions.
The contribution for the membership in the promotion circle of AGFK-BW is 5000 Euro per year. Companies and institutions that intend to become part of this new movement within the industry for pedestrian and cycle-friendly local communities in Baden-Wuerttemberg can write down their interest in a membership in a motivation letter addressed to AGFK-BW.
These are the founding members of the new “AGFK promotion circle”:
Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch eBike Systems), Reutlingen
JobRad GmbH, Freiburg
Otto Nußbaum GmbH & Co. KG, Kehl
Paul Lange & Co. OHG, Stuttgart
Velotraum GmbH & Co. KG, Weil der Stadt
Verbund Service und Fahrrad e. V. (VSF), Berlin
zedler-Gruppe, Ludwigsburg
Zweirad-Industrie-Verband e. V. (ZIV), Bad Soden am Taunus
Author/Photo: Jürgen Wetzstein