"A ridiculously short car trip is one you might as well do on a bike."
In the city of Malmö (SE), half of all car trips are shorter than 5 kilometers - according to a survey administrated in 2003.
The City started from the principle that you have everything to gain by not using the car for travelling less than 5 kilometers. But how can you make people switch from their cars to bikes? Malmö has long been engaged in promoting the use of bikes instead of cars, and they gathered all their projects under a great communication campaign called "No ridiculous car trip". In a video made last year for the campaign, Project coordinator Annika Hörlén says : "Its was important for us to create something that would stand out and be noticed".
A man cycling on a platform in central Malmö, people riding bikes with orange clothes and silver helmets, citizens asked to explain the most ridiculous car trip they ever did... These are some of the numerous initiatives of the campaign. Informing, motivating, recognizing could be the key words.
In parallel to the communication campaign, Malmö is developing its infrastructure, for instance by creating a cycleway and installations aimed at facilitating bike travels in the city.
In the video, Traffic engineer Lens Jönsson concludes "In 1995, 20% of the people in Malmö used a bicycle. Today this number has increased to 30%. That is amazing."
The City of Malmö has been a member of Energy Cities since 2002.
Learn more about the city on their official website (English version).
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