Greeks ditch cars for bicycles

[treesparrow]

Many Greeks ditch cars for cheaper ride


Greece's dire economic plight has forced thousands of businesses to close, thrown one in five out of work and eroded the living standards of millions. But for bicycle-maker Giorgos Vogiatzis, it's not all bad news.

The crisis has put cash strapped Greeks on their bikes - once snubbed as a sign of poverty or just plain risky - and Greek manufacturers are shifting into fast gear.

The high cost of road tax, fuel and repairs is forcing Greeks to ditch their cars in huge numbers. According to the government's statistics office, the number of cars on Greek roads declined by more than 40 per cent in each of the last two years. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 bikes were sold in 2011, up about a quarter from the previous year.

Shops selling bicycles, and equipment ranging from helmets to knee pads, are spreading fast across the capital, popping up even between souvenir shops on the cobbled pedestrian streets of the touristy Plaka district.

"They're sprouting up like mushrooms," said Vogiatzis, who designs and builds tailor-made bicycles in his workshop on the Aegean island of Rhodes.

A former cyclist on Greece's national team, Vogiatzis opened his business in the mid-80s, combining his love for drawing and mathematics, but only recently watched sales boom from a modest 40 bikes a year to over 350.

"There's no more money for luxuries and that helps," said Vogiatzis, who works away furiously with two other staff to meet demand for all sorts of bikes - some lavishly hand-painted in glitter, others flaunting the Greek flag.

"People who were never interested in cycling are buying bikes," he added. Vogiatzis now exports to seven countries including Germany and the United States, and opened shops across Greece, including in Athens where competition is fierce.

A far cry from the shuttered shopfronts in the capital that have become a painful reminder of the country's worst downturn since the Second World War, bike shop owners estimate that at least one store opened every month in 2011. Vogiatzis laughed: "Every neighbourhood has its bike shop just as it's got its kebab shop."

http://news.yahoo.com/squeezed-debt-crisis-greeks-ditch-cars-bikes-120705078--finance.html

Where Greece leads perhaps other rich countries will soon be forced by (economic circumstances) to follow? Get yours while stocks last?

 

[cassandra]

Bikes are great for getting around town fast. In Munich they even have special bicycle lanes complete with traffic lights.
It's great seeing people coming up with new ideas in difficult times, and I bet the air is much cleaner. I know Athens has terrible smog. Dingaling!

 

[loreta]

I have mine in reserve and I will be ready to used if necessary. But I need my car because my husband have difficulty in walking. If things continue at this rhythm, we will be obliged to put our cars aside. The gas oil is every day more expensive and plus they wanted to make us pay more taxes for highways, it is a project and they will do it. When you live in the country a car is very important, if not vital. I really don't know how all this will finish but our road, here in Spain, is leading us to Greece. :(

 

[Gwenllian]

I think that we Dutch people all own a pedal-bike. Even the older people here in small villages own a bike, with a small motor built in the wheel to assist them when the wind becomes too strong. It is sometimes easer to go by bike than by car, especially in towns and cities. In Holland we have all kinds of special lanes for cyclists, even more so than in Germany, because everything is so flat here. :D
I bought a few bench-bikes a few years ago, so that I can also carry lots of stuff. I do not own a car. In the old days people used these bench bikes a lot and we will probably be seeing them more and more.