News
Copenhagen’s New City Bike
14 April 2014
Copenhagen is synonymous with bikes. Nearly everyone does it – children, parents, businessmen – even top politicians. In fact, a majority (63%1) of members of the Danish parliament commute by bike. With more than 300 kilometers of biking lanes, including Cycle Super Highways connecting greater Copenhagen and special traffic lights for bikes, Copenhagener’s travel approximately 1.2 million kilometers on their bicycle every single day.
The new City Bike
Tourists visiting Copenhagen have most likely tried biking around Copenhagen on the so-called Bycykel (City Bike). In fact, the official gift from The City of Copenhagen to American president Bill Clinton, when he visited Copenhagen in 1997, was a specially designed city bike called 'City Bike One'.
The new edition of the City bike from GoBikes is designed as an aluminum unisex model and come with a cardan shaft drive. Cables, light, etc. are built into the frame to prevent vandalism. The saddle is adjusted via gas pressure – and when the saddle is adjusted, the angle to the handlebars automatically adjusts to ensure optimum ergonomical sitting posture. Tyres are puncture-proof – guaranteed for 15,000 km, and the bike has front and rear loading platforms. They also have a built-in tablet PC for navigation, train schedules, local activities, information about bike and docking availability.
As of end March 2014, there are 300 new City Bikes scattered around Copenhagen, and by August all 2,000 bikes will be in the city scene. The City bikes are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Bikes can be rented for DKK 25 per hour.
Good, Better, Best – The City of Copenhagen’s Bicycle Strategy 2011-2025
Copenhagen’s ambitious goal for 2015 is that 50% if all who work in Copenhagen will commute by bike. In Copenhagen’s new bicycle strategy you can read about the new initiatives and plans, which lay down guidelines for the longterm and overriding priorities within the bicycle area. These initiatives and plans are intended to help the City reach the goal to become the world’s best bicycle city before the end of 2015.
Copenhagen’s plan for achieving a greater modal share for bicycles includes increasing the capacity of the cycle tracks to the city centre, in order to accommodate an additional 60,000 cyclists by 2025.
The bike strategy plays a pivotal role in sparing the environment for CO2 emissions and is a vital part of Copenhagen’s ambition to become the first carbon neutral capital in the world by 2025.
Get Copenhagenized – Sharing urban bicycle solutions
Around the world Copenhagenizing has now become a phenomenon in the process of getting more people to leave the car and take a bike. Reasons to promote cycling are many and mutually beneficial: Bikers save money, get exercise and spare the environment for co2 emissions.
For more information, visit:
Source: Visit Copenhagen / City of Copenhagen
For more news, visit our Newsroom
1 http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/bike-city
