My Local Life

Munich

Christoph is a freelance IT consultant in Munich who gets around a lot. Congested streets, stuffy subway trains, delays. Not any more. He has started using a pedelec. The 31 year old sees his pedelec as both a company vehicle and as a piece of leisure and sport equipment.

Munich has big plans. The city’s goal is to become Germany’s “cycling capital”. To achieve this, the Bavarian capital on the banks of the river Isar started a major campaign in 2010. Today, cyclist’s make up 18% of the city’s road users.

For that reason the city invested in the expansion, signposting and safety of bike paths. Today, Munich is the city with the longest network of dedicated cycle lanes in Germany.

The new version of a promotional programme for electro-mobility, “Munich e-mobile”, with a volume of 11.6 million Euros, has been applicable since January 2017. Thus, besides companies, even individuals now get a benefit for buying pedelecs or cargo bikes with electrical drives and for building charging stations.

Inhabitants: 1.5 million

Number of daily commuters:
about 500,000

Munich residents spend an average of 76 hours per year sitting in traffic

An average of 900,000 parking tickets per year

There are 60 bike paths in Munich – more than any other city in Germany

Length of the bike path network:
1,200 kilometers

By 2021 bikes should account for 25% of inner city traffic

80% of Munich residents have their own bicycle – almost half of them use it at least once per week

Coffee shop Aroma

Christoph starts his day relaxing with a glass of freshly pressed juice. The Aroma in the Glockenbach neighborhood is quiet on weekday morning. Here, Christoph makes his first few phone calls while enjoying a ham and cheese toastie.

Eisbach

Munich’s wildwater surfing spot is a place to marvel at – ideal for a break after your client appointments. The surfers ride the Eisbach wave, directly behind the Haus der Kunst art museum.

The Chinese Tower

Wif you want to meet for an open-air lunch with friends or business partners, this is the palce to come: the beer garden at the Chinese Tower. It is a fabulous place shaded by chestnut trees in the English Garden, Munich’s famous park.

Olympiapark

For some more exercise at the end of a day, Christoph meets Sebastian at the Olympia Park. On their eBikes, they go on a leisurely tour of the 850,000 sqm grounds.

M.C. Müller

After a day spent biking, there is nothing like a hamburger and french fried. A very trendy spot serving tasty food: M.C. Müller – a hamburger joint and club rolled into one.