http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iOcWfBfhkB9i_Mrng1AU_ylQlPcQD8SNGKH81
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is turning to an old-fashioned
solution for dealing with its always-clogged roads: encouraging people
to ride bicycles.
The Home Affairs Ministry announced a campaign Monday to promote bicycle
use as a way to cope with traffic, pollution and soaring oil prices. The
ministry said it will seek to increase the number of bicycle-only roads
and bicycle racks, along with revising related ordinances.
"The important role of bicycles as a commuting means for students and
workers over short distances has disappeared due to a sharp increase in
the number of automobiles following rapid growth in the national economy
and income in the late 1970s," the ministry said.
Promoting more bicycle use is also aimed at promoting a healthy society,
it said.
The ministry said it expects one in every four South Koreans to own a
bicycle by 2015, up from about one in every seven. About 60 percent of
Japanese, 74 percent of Germans and 75 percent of the Dutch own a
bicycle, according to the ministry.