Copenhagen is the best cycling city in the world

Cycling city

Green mobility is a key to creating green transitions in cities. By committing to bike-friendly infrastructure, the City of Copenhagen has created a truly unique city environment where green mobility is replacing cars as the main mode of city transport. In 2019 Copenhagen was again voted the world’s best biking city.

When thinking about the best cities to bike in, Copenhagen automatically springs to mind. With over 672,000 bikes in the city alone and 384 kilometers of bike paths around the city, it is impossible to take a stroll through Copenhagen and not notice that bikes are an essential part of everyday Copenhagen life. 44% of all trips to work and education is taken on bike. On a regular day, more than 1.4 million kilometers is travelled by bike in Copenhagen.

But having a bike-friendly city is something that must be worked at. And while Copenhagen has always been a good city to bike in, an increased focus on – and investment in – green mobility has seen the city take huge steps towards becoming not just a good bicycle city, but rather the best bicycle city in the world.

Since 2009 the City of Copenhagen has invested more than 220 million dollars in bicycle initiatives alone, for example, bicycle super highways that make it easy to crisscross the city, convenient bicycle parking practically anywhere you look or bicycle bridges spanning the water and connecting the city in new and exciting ways. Those investments have paid off, and in 2016 more bikes crossed the inner city than cars for the first time since the 1970s.

Healthier Citizens and a Cleaner City

Cyklister på vej henover cykelbro (i København)

Enabling cyclists and promoting green mobility creates a lot of positive effects. 30 minutes of daily cycling lowers an individual’s mortality rate by 30%. An analysis by the Danish Confederation of Industry has also shown that for every 10% increase in cycling in the Capital Region of Denmark, the increase in the city’s air quality and fitness of its citizens will result in 109,000 fewer sick days per year for workers and students – saving both the city, employers and citizens 69 million dollars in health expenses each year.

When more people choose to cycle, there is less congestion in the city, more space on crowded streets and shorten travel time for citizens travelling by car. It reduces noise in the city, and gives people an easy, accessible and healthy way to get around and explore the city. It enables economic growth by removing barriers to workplace access, and finally, every single car trip replaced by one on a bicycle massively helps our climate.

Bikes Instead of Cars

With the City of Copenhagen’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2025, increasing the use of the bicycle as the main vehicle of transport, and making the city increasingly bicycle friendly is a must. Just by convincing a single individual to ride 2.5 kilometers to school or work instead of taking the car can reduce yearly carbon emissions by up to 150 kilograms. And the best way to convince someone to jump on their bike instead of jump in their car is to make sure that the city infrastructure is set up in a way that makes the bicycle the natural choice. And if, as many Copenhageners seem to believe, taking their bike is both the easiest, fastest, healthiest and cheapest mode of transport, then that choice becomes no choice at all.

Facts about Copenhagen cycle culture  

  • There are more bikes than inhabitants in Copenhagen.
  • Every day, people cycle more than 1.4 million kilometers in Copenhagen.
  • Copenhagen has 384 kilometers of bike paths around the city.
  • Copenhagen has one of the world’s most busy cycling streets with more than 40,000 cyclists passing across Dronning Louise’s Bridge daily.
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