100,000 and counting

Barely four months after its installation, Hungary's first automatic bicycle counter hit the 100,000 mark.

As noted on the Kerekagy blog, the 100,000th cyclist who passed through was a perfect representative of today's cycling culture in Budapest: not a recreational cyclist out for a weekend spin, nor a road-biker on a training ride, but rather an everyday commuter. And, as the video makes clear, not a fair-weather one either, as this fellow was riding on in torrential rain after dark in the thick of evening rush hour.

According to Kerekagy, he was the 320th cyclist for the day. That's down from the average daily counts recorded at the end of summer (about 900/day during the workweek), but it might strike some as high for a mid-November day in worse-than-normal conditions.

The data captured by this EUR 5,000 counter is providing valuable empirical evidence of what local cyclists have known for years: biking is an important part of Budapest's transport system. Let's hope these results make an impression on the city's new administration.