The Bicycle-Train Chain Mobility Since 1900

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-90-485-7322-6
Verlag: Pallas Publications

Buch, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Studies in History, Technology and Society

What happens when cycling and train travel are coordinated to work together? This book tells the story of chain mobility—the everyday linking of cycling, walking, and rail—as a practical and powerful alternative to car dependence. Centering the experiences of cyclists, it shows how advocacy groups, planners, and rail operators built the often-overlooked infrastructures that make seamless travel possible, from secure bicycle parking to station-based rentals.

Focusing on the Netherlands and the pivotal role of Dutch Railways, the book traces early experiments that anticipated what we now call Transit-Oriented Development. The narrative culminates in the OV-fiets, a landmark innovation that reveals how social practices, institutional coordination, and technical systems can align.

Drawing on history, planning, and Science and Technology Studies, the book offers fresh insight into how sustainable mobility takes shape.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ploeger, Jan J.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte
• Technische Wissenschaften Verkehrstechnik | Transportgewerbe Verkehrstechnologie: Allgemeines
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Transport- und Verkehrswirtschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction A long search for an alternative to car mobility What is chain mobility? Scientists and chain mobility Sources consulted Reading Guide

Notes and references Introduction

1. Travelers: cyclists practice chain mobility since 1890s

1.1 Bicycle tourists pioneer bike on train

1.2 The rental bike as last mile transport for business travelers: a missed opportunity?

1.3 Commuters park their bikes at the station

Conclusion chapter 1

Notes and references chapter 1

2. Theorists: chain mobility and traffic & transport as a system, 1900-2000

2.1 City planners choose the pedestrian as before and after transport in TOD

2.2 Transport economists view transport as a service - at market price

2.3 Traffic engineers and the interchange as system problem

Conclusion chapter 2

Notes and references chapter 2

3. Policymakers: use spatial planning for chain mobility opportunities, 1958-present

3.1 Compact bicycle cities thanks to band city and Green Heart

3.2 Balanced urban development against congestion

3.3 Compact city values proximity over accessibility

3.4 Stedenbaan and the regional continuation of TOD policy

Conclusion chapter 3

Notes and references chapter 3

4. The Railroad: laborious implementation of chain mobility, 1962-present

4.1 Passenger transport a matter of technology and economics

4.2 The emergence of railroad planning

4.3 Planning department promotes TOD and Houten as an icon

4.4 The NS ‘Wise on the Way’ with society and politics

4.5 Chain mobility embraced in Stalling 21 and Bicycle Parking Action Plan

Conclusion chapter 4

Notes and references chapter 4

5. OV-fiets: innovation as the final link in the mobility chain, 1965-present

5.1 Luud Schimmelpennink pioneer of shared mobility, Witkar and DEPO bicycle

5.2 White bicycle and DEPO

5.3 The OV-fiets as railroad development project

5.4 OV-fiets’ heady growth

Conclusion chapter 5

Notes and references chapter 5

6. Conclusion

Notes and Reference Conclusion

Appendix 1 Transportation mode choice travelers to and from the station 1958-2019

Appendix 2 Background interviewers

Bibliography Archival Collections Newspaper and Journal Articles Published Documents of Government and Non-Governmental Organizations Scholarly Publications

Illustration sources

Über Autor(innen)

Jan Ploeger received his PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Before his retirement he worked in the field of transport and mobility as consultant and manager at a consulting firm and several public authorities.