EuroVelo Route Inspectors' training in Brussels and Kranj: almost 50 new Inspectors certified!
The European Certification Standard (ECS) is the European Cyclists' Federation’s methodology to assess the quality of long-distance cycle routes. It adopts the user’s perspective and is based on three pillars: infrastructure, services and communication. ECF has developed alongside a customised mobile app and an interface to overview the data collected after the physical survey by bicycle.
This ready-to-be-used tool has a wide range of applications and strengths. It can:
- Help plan quality cycle routes
- Evaluate the need for improvements, investments and maintenance
- Collect useful and precise data for lobbying to public authorities
- Provide reliable information to the users.
Since 2015, ECF has been organising EuroVelo Route Inspectors' training sessions to teach the ECS methodology to a variety of stakeholders, from cycle route managers to academics and NGO employees1. .
Additionally, since 2022, Refresher Courses have been conducted online for Inspectors who previously participated in a training session and require an update on the methodology. Completing this one-day course is mandatory for renewing the EuroVelo Route Inspector Certificate, which remains valid for five years. This Certificate is the condition to be eligible to perform cycle route surveys using the ECS app and methodology.
Indeed, the ECS methodology is a living methodology which has gone through several updates and improvements to better fit the needs of the EuroVelo Route Inspectors and make it an adapted and flexible tool.
Growing interest for the ECS methodology – 34 participants from 17 countries at the Brussels edition
The 11th edition spanned over two days in April 2024 in Brussels, Belgium, and was the opportunity to witness the growing interest for the methodology, with one of the highest number of participants ever. After two intense days of learning and applying the methodology along EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena), 34 participants from 17 countries succeeded in the tests and became official EuroVelo Route Inspectors!
A consistent number of participants joined the training in the frame of Baltic Biking Upgrade, an Interreg Baltic Sea project aiming at developing EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route and cycling-friendly services and offers in the South Baltic Area. ECS surveys are already being planned in the five countries part of the project, to gather precise and updated information on the quality of the route.
An ad-hoc training brings Slovenia to the third place in terms of number of certified EuroVelo Route Inspectors!
Two weeks after the Brussels edition, the EuroVelo Management Team was already on its way to Kranj, Slovenia (by night train!), to deliver a new training session to representatives of six regional development agencies and mobility centres. ECF was invited by the Regional Development Agency of Gorenjska in the framework of the ReMobil project, which aims at developing cycling tourism in the country!
After a full day of theory, the participants tested their newly acquired knowledge using the ECS mobile app along one of the regional cycle routes. At the end of the two-day training, an enthusiastic group of 12 participants was granted the title and diploma of EuroVelo Route Inspector. The inspectors will be able to assess cycling routes in the country for three years following the purchase of the ECS license from ECF.
Slovenia is now the third country with the most EuroVelo Route Inspectors (17) after Belgium (19, including ECF staff) and Hungary (18). With three EuroVelo routes crossing the country and the heritage of Velo-city Ljubljana in 2022, cycling tourism looks promising in Slovenia!
There are currently more than 160 up-to-date EuroVelo Route Inspectors out of a total of 255 inspectors trained since the release of the first version of the methodology in 2014-2015.
The list of EuroVelo Route Inspectors who can be contacted for survey work is available here.
If you would like to receive information about the next editions of the EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Training or Refresher Course, you can send an email to Florence Grégoire ([email protected]) and Alexandra Fournier ([email protected]).
1. Please see the below documents for a more thorough overview of the ECS methodology.
Author: Alexandra Fournier with kind contributions from Jessica Casagrande and Florence Grégoire
