The ALDE party, Press Release, 22/09/2014
Have you ever biked in central Moscow? The leader of ALDE member party YABLOKO Sergei Mitrokhin has done so. He seized the opportunity to participate in European Mobility week by taking his bike to work in Moscow on 22 September, the last of the special week, which officially kicked off on 16 September.

European Mobility Week is all about creating sustainable transport alternatives. A report issued last year by the International Energy Agency IEA concludes that by 2050 over two billion light duty vehicles (not including two- or three-wheelers) are expected to be used on the roads compared to the current estimated amount of 900 million. As more and more people live in urbanised areas it is safe to say infrastructure and mobility will have to be developed accordingly.

This is also the mission of YABLOKO and Mithrokin, who rode his bicycle for about 12 km through the centre of Moscow, concluding “there’s no system and logic for biking in Moscow, only separate PR-fragments. YABLOKO stands for the creation of bicycle infrastructure, not only for relaxation but also for enabling the residents of Moscow to move from one place to another, bike to work, shop and so on. A person should be given a choice between a car, public transport and a bicycle.”

YABLOKO is devoted to improving the lives of ordinary Russian people commuting to work every day – something Mitrokhin discovered can be rather dangerous as biking lanes are absent in many places and sometimes end all of a sudden. Wheelchair ramps are also missing in some of the underground walkways. Mitrokhin is also concerned with how disabled people and people with baby strollers manage in these places.

By biking to work Mitrokhin wants to encourage all Muscovites to start using their bikes to set an example and force the Moscow government to solve the issue of poor infrastructure as soon as possible.

Read the full story and see all the pictures here: http://ift.tt/1r0nuEM
The original publication