Copenhagen sets new cycling record
Posted on in Cycles News
Copenhagen get closer to their target of having half of all commuter journeys completed by bike.
Copenhagen set a new record last year, with bicycle traffic in the Danish capital increasing by 3% last year, compared to the year before. It is now at its highest level since 1989 when the city began keeping count.
"Copenhageners should really be commended, because while the number of bicycles in traffic in central Copenhagen last year exceeded the number of cars for the first time, the trend is going in an opposite direction outside the municipality's borders," Copenhagen Municipality wrote in a press release.
The share of commuters travelling by bicycle to and from work or their studies in Copenhagen last year was 41%, which is impressive, but still short of the 50% target set by the city. Copenhagen's strategy leading up to 2025 is to grow the number of daily bicycle trips by an additional 60,000 to 240,000.
Detailed in the report new figures show that locals cycled 1.4 million kilometres on an average weekday, up 22% since 2006.
When it comes to safety, the risk of having an accident has reduced by 23% and "feeling of safety" increased by 43%.
Of all the transport trips completed in Copenhagen in 2016, 32% were made using a bicycle, 29% by car, 14% on public transport and 25% by foot.
Elsewhere in the country, outside Copenhagen, car traffic increased by 12% and bicycle traffic fell by 15% last year compared to 2015.