Denmark’s car numbers hit record high, sparking concerns over increased congestion and underutilized carpooling options
The number of cars in Denmark has reached an all-time high, with a 28% increase over the last 12 years to 2,845,000 personal vehicles. This growth is contributing to increased congestion on Denmark’s roads. Traffic is increasing faster than the road network can expand, leading to expectations of further congestion in the future.
One contributing factor to this congestion is the low number of car occupants commuting to and from work. On average, each car carries only 1.08 people during peak commuting hours. Across all car journeys, there are only around 1.4 people per vehicle, indicating that there are approximately 14 million empty car seats traveling around Denmark each day.
Efforts to encourage carpooling have not been successful. Many drivers prefer to travel alone, and see carpooling as a loss of flexibility due to the need to coordinate departure and arrival times with others. Furthermore, the economic gains of carpooling are not significant for individuals.
Despite these challenges, carpooling apps are seeing an increase in usage. On the carpooling platform Nabogo, it is expected that 600,000 rides will be arranged via the app this year. There is significant potential for more Danes to share rides, especially from rural areas to cities where public transport services are less comprehensive.
In order to change Danish transport habits, it has been suggested that drivers receive a tax-free allowance for income earned from carrying passengers. However, this proposal has been criticized for potentially leading to regulatory challenges. Despite this, it is argued that action must be taken to promote carpooling and prevent further congestion on Danish roads.