Straight talk from the saddle

"In most Danish cities, there are separate lanes for bikes. In Copenhagen, the roads for bikes are totally separate from those used by cars, but right next door to them.

Also, motorists have to give way to cyclists. If you come to a crossroads where the motorist wants to turn right, but a cyclist want to go straight on, the car has to stop and wait for the bike to pass before it can complete the turning manouver.

The odd thing in Copenhagen, compared with other Danish cities, is that there are so many cyclists that sometimes there's a bike rush hour in the morning. People enjoy riding their bikes, because the conditions are so nice."

Linda Jensen from Odense, who visits Copenhagen on a regular basis.

"Sometimes I worry about my children when they ride their bikes in the city. I worry that they might get hit, because I have seen several accidents. I never think about inviting friends to ride a bike in Beijing.

It's difficult to use the bike for leisure or exercise because the roads are too crowded. We mainly ride around the campus here or ride a short distance to go shopping.

Sometimes we use buses, but we have to know exactly which bus to take before we leave home. We can't figure it out on the way because we don't know any Chinese. The subway is actually very good in Beijing and sometimes we use it. The buses are OK, and most Chinese are poorly paid, so the bus is necessary right now.

In my opinion, widening the cycle lanes will not solve the problem, because vehicles will continue to use them, especially as there will be more room. I think the city has to provide separate routes for leisure cycling. Either that, or enforce the ticketing of those who disobey. I think that would be excellent for the government, because it would raise revenue. That would make the government some money. If they just have more officers giving tickets, they will make more money and not have to put money into widening roads that won't be used properly."

Joe Wisham, an English teacher at Renmin University of China.

"I think what's most needed in China is a change in bike regulations. Attitudes need to change too. At the moment, if you travel somewhere on your bike, a security guard is likely to stop you from parking, but if you're driving a Mercedes, there's no problem. If you take a bicycle to Sanlitun (Beijing's trendy bar and shopping district), they will usually tell you to go away.

If you are riding a bicycle in the lane, buses will pull out in front of you, sound the horn and tell you to get out the way, as though you should get off your bike and bow down to the bus or anybody in a car. I have some friends who work in white-collar jobs. They say they would like to ride bikes, but they feel like second-class citizens when they do, as if they are not human. That is the biggest problem.

You can build wider bike lanes, you can build more bike lanes, but if people's attitude toward the person on the bike is bad, no one will want to ride.

You can't make people ride bikes by making their bike lanes a little bit wider. You have to make cycling appealing. I really think that to increase the number of people cycling in Beijing, you need to think about why they don't want to ride and how we can change things. I don't think it's about the width of the bike lane or a lack of places where cyclists can leave their bikes. That's a small thing compared with the atmosphere, which is not pleasant. This is what we have to change."

Shannon Bufton, co-founder of Smarter Than Cars.