Cycling carrots in Copenhagen

Problem: Copenhagen cyclists who don’t park their bikes at assigned bike racks and instead park them in areas frequently needed by emergency vehicles.

Solution: “Bicycle butlers.”

If you park your bicycle illegally, the City will move it over to the bike racks. Instead of finger-wagging, they will then oil your chain, pump your tires and leave a little note on your bicycle asking to kindly use the bike racks in the future…

When the project started in April they were moving around 150 bicycles a day. Today that number has dropped to between 30 and 50.

“It’s been a bigger success than I had expected. At the beginning I wasn’t keen on rewarding people who parked illegally. The idea was to tackle the problem in a way that wouldn’t make people angry because we moved their bicycles,” sais (Project Leader Poul Erik) Kinimond.

Hat tip: Cheryl Longinotti