Copenhagen proposes fewer rental e-bikes and better tourist information

Copenhagen officials have proposed reducing the number of shared e-bikes and providing tourists with more information to improve safety on the city’s cycle lanes, DR reports.

The proposals emerged from a meeting held at Copenhagen City Hall, attended by two mayors and representatives from the cycling and tourism sectors. The participants discussed solutions to the challenges created by the large number of foreign tourists cycling around the city.

Up to 15,000 electric shared bicycles are currently authorised in Copenhagen, with an estimated 13,000 on the streets.

Andreas Kiel, Copenhagen’s mayor for employment, integration and business, said the meeting produced new ideas for addressing the issue. The participants plan to prepare a shared policy document containing common guidelines and initiatives for both the short and long term.

“We will now review all these good ideas and proposals,” Kiel said. He added that he hoped the document would be ready before the next wave of tourists arrives next summer, allowing some new initiatives to be presented by then.

Line Barfod, Copenhagen’s mayor for climate, environment and technology, said there was broad agreement that action was needed. She called for regulation of rental e-bikes and more coordinated information for tourists who want to explore Copenhagen by bicycle.

“Now we have something in common that we can take to Christiansborg,” Barfod said.

Kenneth Øhrberg Krag, director of the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, said it was timely to hold the meeting. He said all 25 participants agreed that the shared-bike sector needed regulation.

Krag said he hoped the transport minister would allow Copenhagen and other municipalities to regulate the number of shared bicycles. It was not possible to obtain a comment from City, Rural and Transport Minister Signe Munk.

Earlier in the summer, the Road Safety Council ran an information campaign for tourists cycling in Copenhagen. A survey found that about eight in ten Copenhagen cyclists believe tourists pose a safety problem.