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Cycling policy in four Nordic countries
In recent decades, many cities and regions within the Nordic Region have worked towards planning for sustainable mobility by developing infrastructure and rethinking public spaces to prioritise street users on foot or bike. In doing so, the space becomes more accessible to a wider range of visitors, not only those who have the privilege of accessing a private vehicle.
While the share of cyclists in several cities and regions in the Nordic countries is relatively high compared to other European countries (ECF, n.d.), there are still gaps, for example, when it comes to bicycle connections across municipalities and regions.
The following tables and figures (Tables 2-4; Figures 1-3) highlight the modal share in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. As there are many ways of measuring modal share, Table 2 and Figure 1 are displayed as modal share by number of trips, while Table 3 and Figure 2 show modal share by passenger-kilometres travelled. Table 4 and Figure 3 provide a more detailed view of the capital cities in these countries.
Table 2. Modal share in four Nordic countries (by number of trips)
Cycling | 12.1% | 7.5% | 4.0% | 14.7% |
Walking | 31.4% | 22.4% | 22.0% | 16.9% |
Public transport | 4.4% | 6.1% | 7.0% | 11.6% |
Car | 52.1% | 61.4% | 65.0% | 54.8% |
Other | 0.1% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 2.0% |
Figure 1. Modal share in four Nordic countries (by number of trips)
Table 3. Modal share in four Nordic countries, by passenger-kilometres travelled (km/person/day)
Total km/ pers/day | 33.9 | 34.3 | 22.5 | 28.3 | ||||
km/pers /day | % | km/pers /day | % | km/pers /day | % | km/pers /day | % | |
Cycling | 1.2 | 3.7% | 0.7 | 2.0% | 0.3 | 1.4% | 0.6 | 2.1% |
Walking | 1.5 | 4.4% | 1 | 2.9% | 1.4 | 6.2% | 0.7 | 2.5% |
Public transport | 1.5 | 4.5% | 2.7 | 7.9% | 4.5 | 19.9% | 4 | 14.1% |
Car | 28.9 | 85.2% | 28.9 | 84.3% | 16.3 | 72.3% | 22 | 77.7% |
Other | 0.7 | 2.1% | 1 | 2.9% | 0.03 | 0.1% | 1 | 3.5% |
Figure 2. Modal share in four Nordic countries, by passenger-kilometres travelled (km/person/day)
When measured by passenger-kilometres travelled per day, Denmark has the highest share of travel from cycling compared to the other Nordic countries, but also the highest share of car travel. This is related to the fact that fewer passenger-kilometres per day are travelled by public transport in Denmark compared to Finland, Norway, and Sweden. But when it comes to number of total trips, Denmark has the fewest car trips compared to the other Nordic countries. In Norway, almost 20% of passenger-kilometres per day are made by public transport, and 6.2% by walking, but only 1.4% by cycling—the least of the Nordic countries. While the highest share of passenger-kilometres travelled per day in all four Nordic countries is made, unsurprisingly, by the car, a greater percentage of passenger-kilometres travelled per day in Norway and Sweden comes from sustainable modes of transport (walking, cycling, or public transport) compared to Finland and Denmark.
Table 4. Modal share in four Nordic capital cities, by number of trips
Cycling | 21% | 9% | 7% | 11.2% |
Walking | 35% | 46% | 39% | 28.1% |
Public transport | 14% | 23% | 22% | 37% |
Car | 30% | 21% | 30% | 22.0% |
Other | 0% | 1% | 2% | 2.2% |
Figure 3. Modal share in four Nordic capitals
At the local level, Copenhagen stands out from the other capital cities when it comes to the share of trips made by cycling. However, Copenhagen has the least trips made by public transport (14%; and reflective of the situation in Denmark as a whole), a large share (37%) of weekday travel trips in Stockholm are completed by public transport. Helsinki and Stockholm have the least number of trips made by car (21% and 22% respectively). For Helsinki, this is especially due to the high shares of trips made by walking (46%). Meanwhile, Copenhagen and Oslo share the same percent of trips made by car (30%), the highest of these four cities. In Oslo, fewer trips (7%) are made by cycling than the other capital cities; however, they also have a relatively high share of trips made by walking (39%).
This data provides a quantitative background as to the status of cycling in the Nordic countries. In the following sections, we will explore the national-level objectives, mechanisms, and key actors in each of these Nordic countries.
1 See Table 4 in Christiansen & Baescu (2022); Vejdirektoratet (n.d.-c)
2 See Traficom (2023-a)
3 See Statens Vegvesen (2022-a); Figure 16 in Opinion AS (2021).
4 See Table 1 in Trafikanalys (2022).
5 See Table 3 in Christiansen & Baescu (2022).
6 See Traficom (2023-a)
2 See Traficom (2023-a)
3 See Statens Vegvesen (2022-a); Figure 16 in Opinion AS (2021).
4 See Table 1 in Trafikanalys (2022).
5 See Table 3 in Christiansen & Baescu (2022).
6 See Traficom (2023-a)
7 See Table 5.1 in Madslien et al. (2021); author’s calculations.
8 See Table 6 in Trafikanalys (2021)
9 Calculated as entire travel chains in Copenhagen Municipality; figures are based on DTU transport habits survey where participants were asked, at different times of the year, about their previous day’s travel; see Figure 3 in Københavns kommune (2022).
10 Data shows primary means of transport as percentage of all trips made within Helsinki; see City of Helsinki (2022-a).
11 Modes of travel for daily journeys in Oslo Municipality; see Statistikkbanken (n.d.)
12 The Stockholm data shows modal share from Monday to Friday in 2019, so it includes all trips during those days, including leisure, grocery shopping, commuting, etc. The share has been calculated by the authors based on Table 1 in the Regional Travel Survey; see Johansson (2020).