The new Finnish government took office in June 2019 with the ambitious goal of increasing cycling and walking by 30% in 2030. This positive disposition came with strong lobby work from the Pyöräliitto (Finnish Cyclists’ Federation (FCF)) and marked the first ever admittance of cycling into a Finnish government work plan. This means spendings on cycling will be almost doubled amounting to 40-50 Million Euros annually.

Hidden behind these figures are strong political cooperation, successful lobbying work, captivating marketing strategies along with a call to action to tackle problems and barriers preventing people from cycling. In 2018, the FCF provided the necessary initiative and advocated for funding to implement a National Cycling and Walking Plan, which was accepted by the government. Matti Koistinen, Executive Director of the FCF, explains that

“Keys for the success were well-built relations to the ministry of Transport and Communications so they adopted many of our ideas. The FCF also gathered support across the political field for the strategic objectives. Last but not least, there was some great work done in the negotiations by the members of political parties to put cycling on the agenda. We've got great support on the way from the ECF and it's members, so thanks to the whole cycling family in Europe!”

Although the FCF’s campaign was extensive, it also relied on simple yet compelling material illustrating the power of cycling. A vital part of the campaign was the booklet “Guide to sustainable traffic” containing 20 facts about traffic and cycling. Matti Koistinen describes it as the “single most important material we produced. I hope similar would be made all over Europe! It has been an excellent help.”.

Call for Action to Encourage more People Cycling - Going beyond Cycling-Friendly Infrastructure

The new work plan aims for resolute action to set about cycling barriers and increase the number of cyclists by making it safer as well as more accessible. Finland already has an extensive network of cycle paths, but the quality is moderate and spaces are often shared with pedestrians. Therefore, investments will be mainly allocated to the improvement of state roads, meaning higher standards and segregated lanes for pedestrians. Finnish winters can be challenging as well; however, cold weather, ice and snow does not automatically mean that cycling is impossible. The action plan will include better winter maintenance to make cycling possible even within parts of the country where temperatures drop below zero for almost half the year. The FCF’s lobbying work targeted a variety of issues to ensure that cycling is enjoyable and accessible for everyone. For example, the FCF aims for bike to work schemes, congestion charges as well as a reformation of traffic taxes. Matti Koistinen believes these to be crucial:

“Hopefully the improvements for bike to work scheme mean making company bikes tax free for employees. The Finnish Cyclists' Federation believes that this would significantly increase the sales of bikes and especially pedelecs.”

Getting a Head Start on Implementation

The FCF’s work is not over yet, it is already on its toes and pitched proposals to the Ministry of Transport on how the new funding should be shared between the National Walking and Cycling Plan. It will remain to be actively involved in the next steps says Matti Koistinen:

"Most importantly we now make sure the promised funding will be on the government's budget for next year. This also means a bit of a role change for the FCF: besides proposing new ideas, we now have to watch that some of the old ideas and promises are kept.“

But this is not the end of it. Next on the FCF’s Agenda is the continuation of its lobby work on tax-free company bikes for employees and to receive even more funding for cycling. Moreover, the FCF’s ambitions extend across national borders. Finland’s EU Presidency for the second half of 2019 will allow for even closer collaboration between the Finnish and the European Cyclists’ Federation on EU-wide cycling issues.