While cycling has been booming in Copenhagen over the past 20 years, cycling levels at national level in 2010 were well below 1990. In order to reverse that negative trend, a Bicycle Fund 2009 – 2014 was put in place by the national government and equipped with 1 bn DKK (133 million Euro) for investments in cycling. A mid-term review now indicates that these efforts have paid off.

A look at the left map below makes it clear with one eye-catch that cycle use is not evenly spread in Denmark. While the cycling boom is mainly concentrated to the Capital and to a lesser extent the other larger cities (green colours), in particular Odense and Aarhus, rural areas usually see much lower levels of cycling. Nationally, cycling saw a constant decline in the 1990s, stabilized somewhat in the 2000s before it dropped significantly in 2009/ 2010. Since then cycle use has bounced back but the current level of cycling is still below 1990.

In order to reverse that overall negative trend, a first national cycling strategy was adopted in 2007 and updated in 2014. The main instrument to deliver those strategies was a Bicycle Fund that, equipped with about 1bn DKK, provided co-funding for almost 400 projects, both at city level but also to upgrade cycling infrastructure alongside national connections. Among other, a total of 250km of new cycling paths were built with the grants.

An interim evaluation of the effect of 161 bicycle projects that have received grants from the Bike Fund now came to the conclusion that cycling increased by 24 % on those stretches where new infrastructure has been provided. The evaluators also found that a clear majority of those attracted from other modes were car users. 

Stopinterview results change in transport:

• 78% no change
• 17% route change
• 3% from cars
• 1% from PT
• 1% wouldn´t make the trip before

Whether the Bicycle Fund was instrumental in increasing overall levels of cycling in cities was hard to tell, the interim report says as the co-funded measures were usually part of a wider cycling promotion framework. However anecdotal evidence from cities where cycling increased, such as in Aarhus, which achieved an 19 % increase in cycling from 2009 to 2014, suggest a positive correlation between the investments co-funded by the national government and an increased popularity of cycling as a mode of transport.

Further reading: http://www.ktc.dk/artikel/cykelpuljen-har-faaet-flere-op-paa-cyklen

Stopinterview results on experienced safety at established bikelane/tracks

The grant recipients assessed influence on own cycling investments

Subsequent National Danish Bicycle Funds:

Supercyclehighway in 5 Largest Cities Fund (2013): 187 mn DKK

Supercyclehighway and cycleparking Fund (2014-15) 181 mn DKK

Advancement of Cycling Fund (2015): 51 mn DKK