Denmark's Cycling Policy Update: Declining Trends, Major Investments, and Plans for Targeted Future Funds
Summary
Denmark’s national cycling traffic has declined over the past decade, particularly among youth and in rural areas, despite a boom in e-bike sales and significant infrastructure investments totaling 3.5 billion DKK since 2009. These efforts have boosted local cycling by over 20% on funded projects and deliver strong health benefits, saving society nearly 10 DKK per extra kilometer cycled. Looking ahead, the Road Directorate is launching a National Knowledge Center for Cycling Promotion and recommending theme-specific funding pools to reverse the downturn.
Background
A presentation by Marianne Foldberg Steffensen from Vejdirektoratet (Danish Road Directorate) at a cycling seminar on March 2, 2022, highlighted key trends in Danish cycling over the last 10-15 years. Cycling kilometers have fallen since 2014, with stagnation or slight growth only in major cities and sharper declines in sparsely populated areas. Children and youth aged 10-17 have seen a 32% drop in daily bike trips, while e-bike ownership has surged—reaching 10% of Danes by 2020 after sales tripled since 2014.
Investments through the National Cycling Pools since 2009 have channeled 3.5 billion DKK into infrastructure along state roads and municipal projects, with the state contributing 2.2 billion DKK and municipalities adding 1.3 billion DKK in matching funds. Evaluations show two-thirds of recipient municipalities increased their own cycling investments, and project routes saw average traffic growth exceeding 20%. Health impacts are substantial: each extra bike kilometer saves society about 10 DKK (6.5 DKK for e-bikes) through reduced heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, net of accident costs. A 2018 Danish Industry study estimated a 10% cycling increase could cut sick days by 267,000 annually, yielding 1.1 billion DKK in socioeconomic gains.
Despite these inputs, overall cycling kilometers per capita have not risen amid population growth and urbanization, due to factors like car ownership, shifting transport culture, and safety perceptions.
Future Outlook
To address these challenges, Vejdirektoratet is launching the National Knowledge Center for Cycling Promotion this month as part of the “Year of the Bicycle” initiative, backed by 4 million DKK from the Infrastructure Plan 2035. The center will consolidate existing knowledge, develop new research across disciplines, and guide future investments. A new Cycling Council, established in 2021, will incorporate stakeholder input on priorities.
Recommendations for upcoming pools through 2035 include targeting themes like commuter cycling and super cycle highways, youth cycling, recreational routes, and bike-multi-modal trips. Funding should prioritize projects yielding the most new cyclists—likely concentrated in the three largest cities—but with awareness of geographic imbalances. Subsidy rates of 40-50% (up to 100% for knowledge projects) should be maintained to encourage broad participation, especially from low-cycling municipalities.