So what exactly happens when you’re a major train operator and you suddenly make it free for passengers to take bikes on your trains? We know that some rail operators in various parts of the world would have you believe that chaos would ensue and that they would lose passengers. Numbers from Greater Copenhagen and Danish State Railways (DSB), however, seem to indicate that the opposite is true. The S-train network that serves Greater Copenhagen is arguably the most integral part of the public transport mix in the region. Buses, Metro and regional trains are vital parts of the network, but the red S-trains stretching out into Europe’s third-largest urban sprawl are in many ways the backbone.

The S-train network - with 2 Metro lines at bottom right.

Bicycles were allowed on the trains for a fee, which was never prohibitive. Until 2010, that is. In that year, DSB announced that bicycles would be made free on all their trains. They announced it with pride and in style and launched a comprehensive awareness campaign with creative solutions.

DSB made the decision based simply on a business case model. They figured that more passengers - both commuters and users travelling in their free time - would take the train with their bikes if it were free. Six years later... how's THAT working out for them?

'Rather well' would be an understatement. The number of passengers taking a bike on board rose from 2.1 million to 9 million. A total, whoppping passenger increase of 20%. And it continues to rise. The loss of income from ditching the bicycle ticket has been paid off several times over with the increased passenger numbers. It is estimated that almost 10% of passengers now take a bike with them. Indeed, when asked in a survey, 91% of passengers were positive about the possibility to take bikes on the trains. 27% of the cyclists on board responded that they wouldn't have travelled by train if they couldn't take their bike with them. 8% even said that they travel more by train now that it is free. In May 2009, before it was free, 188,000 bikes were taken on the S-Train network. A year later, after it was free, 630,000 bikes were taken on board. And that continued to rise.

In order to meet the demand, DSB redesign the compartments on all their trains and created so-called Flex Zones with fold up seats and bike racks beneath each seat. They adjusted the seating on all trains, as seen in the graphic, above, and now every train has a capacity for 60 bicycles.

The redesign also included a comprehensive reworking of pictograms and the implementation of a one-way system to ease conflicts when bikes are rolled on or off the train. The spacious bicycle compartments are located in the middle of the train set, since DSB research showed that the seating in the middle of the train was less popular with passengers.

Providing more bicycle parking at stations, especially the main stations in the Capital Region, remains a challenge. Nationally, bike parking at train stations is at a high capacity and on this point, Denmark lags behind cities in the Netherlands. Although Dutch national rail operator NS prefers having customers travel without their bikes and therefore parking at stations is more of an issue for them.

Nevertheless, Copenhagenize Design Co. has proposed 7550 bike parking spots behind Copenhagen Central Station with this design.

Continuing with their work to encourage bicycles on trains, DSB has toyed with the idea of putting bicycle pumps on board trains, but so far they have gone with bicycle foot pumps integrated with advertising facilities outside their stations. A pragmatic approach coupled with a cool, business decision has paid off for DSB. The bicycle should and must be integrated at every step of peoples daily lives if a city is to be truly bicycle-friendly.

We reported about it before. Denmark is in desperate need of bike mechanics. So much so that the organisation of bike shops - Danske Cykelhandlere - started a campaign with free café postcards aimed at getting young people interested in taking the bike mechanic education. With over 600 bike shops in Copenhagen alone (most of them earning their wage by repairing bikes) let alone the rest of the nation, you can do the math From their website, (now defunct): “There is a big shortage of bike mechanics. The reason is that more and more bikes are being sold and they need to be serviced and repaired. In addition, bikes are becoming more advanced. Gone are the days when people used half a weekend to fix up their own bikes as best they could.

They would rather send it to a mechanic. That's why the need for good bike mechanics is rising. Completing the bike mechanic education is quite like printing your own job guarantee, but it's close."

With Denmark virtually at full employment (back in 2008, when this was first written), there are shortages in many areas of the workforce. Bike mechanics are no exception.

The course takes three years. 40 weeks are in the classroom, the rest of the time is in an apprenticeship. With all that said, you don't HAVE to take the course to open a bike shop. Many immigrants open bike shops with their skills from their homeland.

I find it a bit funny that the bike in the postcard is like nothing you see on the bike lanes in any Danish city, but hey. It's advertising.

I was going to do a post about wine labels featuring bicycles today. Nothing groundbreaking, I know, but hey. To my surprise, however, I found out that the Cycles Gladiators wine out of California, who use the above classic vintage poster on their wine labels, was just banned in Alabama for being pornographic. Giggle.

First and foremost, it makes me happy that I live in Scandinavia. Censorship-free. You see ads like this on busses...

The ban is completely stupid, I know, but it's also the greatest marketing bonus for any product. Getting banned is free advertising.

Anyway, here's a wine called Red Bicyclette with a bicycle on the label. American owned, French grapes.

Then there's this one from Nevada City Winery in California.

Out of Australia there is Hill of Content.

And here's another Australian wine called Rolling. One of their labels features a cyclist. They've developed a story about the women on her bicycle: The ROLLING label features the fictitious 'retro character, ‘Beatrice’, riding her bicycle through rolling hills. These hills are typical of the landscape at the beautiful Cumulus Wines Estate vineyard. Beatrice is a proud, confident, country woman.

Beatrice's scarf is in the colours of the local football team while the oranges in her basket point to the brand's locality.

Not sure about that screw top, though. While 'Bibs' or 'Bag in the Box' ['les bibs' in French... seriously] are now free of their stigma and many premium winemakers chuck their juice into boxes, I still get twitches when I see screwtops.

Cargo bike culture starts early in Copenhagen. With 25% of families with two or more kids using a cargo bike to get around, it’s a part of life for children in so many ways to be well-acquainted with cargo bikes. The municipality of Copenhagen estimatest that there are around 30,000 cargo bikes in Copenhagen. Copenhagenize Design Company has reached a number of 40,000, based on sales numbers and including vintage cargo bikes, in Greater Copenhagen. That number, however, doesn’t count the armadas of mini cargo bikes found at schools and kindergartens and in the backyards of flats around the region. I’ve just moved to a new place and we found the cargo bike, above, in the backyard. For communal use. Lulu-Sophia has taken a liking to it and gravitates to it like magnet whenever we’re out playing.

Here's an even mini'er version at her kindergarten for the two to four year olds.

Here's another version in our new backyard. Perfect for pint-sized, sociable urban mobility. Big brother Felix loves giving Lulu-Sophia a ride.

In the playground at Felix's school there are many bikes for kids to play on. Here's Lulu-Sophia showing off a couple of them, above and below.

A bit too big for her, this one, but it's intended for older kids. Most of them feature a passenger seat. Because Citizen Cyclists - whatever their age - like cycling sociably.

Much like this, at the school. And these are just the tip of the iceberg regarding design and variety.

This trike, with the back bucket, is a Danish classic. Winther Bikes have been making them for 50 years and they are rather iconic in this country. The bucket at the back serves a practical purpose, of course. Carrying stuff. Which is what cargo bikes are all about. ADDENDUM
Here are a couple more examples from the mean streets of the Danish capital. Above, heading home from kindergarten, a Copenhagen kid gets to try and ride the family's Christiania bike along the cycle tracks.

And this was spotted on my way home from picking up Lulu-Sophia from kindergarten. A mum sitting on the back rack and letting her kid get the feeling of the ride from the saddle of this Nihola.

Here's a glimpse into the secret life of cargo bike compartments. This one - one of many - was parked outside the kindergarten. All the essentials for a kid's life. Including a magic wand.

I used to use the Velorbis to pick up Lulu-Sophia from kindergarten. Well, Lulu and friends, of course.

The classic hook on the back racks of Danish bikes comes in handy when transporting a lunchbox. Although apples are doable as well - among many other things. Here's more on these hooks on our bikes.

Photo: Theis Mortensen for Copenhagenize.com

The City of Copenhagen in collaboration with Atkins Denmark have started testing Flex Parking zones in Copenhagen. Starting with the street outside Ingrid Jespersen's High School in Ndr. Frihavnsgade (that's a street name).

We recieved info about the project from Niels Hoe-Svendsen from Atkins, formally in charge of the City of Copenhagen's bicycle parking. The primary goal is to create a safe environment for cycling to school. Many schools built at the turn of the last century in Copenhagen have space problems regarding bicycle parking in the school yards or on the street. Thus this new pilot project called Flex Parking. Flex Parking lets cycling citizens and motorists share street space. During school hours the street space is reserved for bicycles - from 07:00-17:00. The rest of the time it is reserved for car parking Instead of removing car parking spots and turning them into bicycle racks, the idea is to exploit the city space as best as possible by reserving the space for cyclists only when they actually use it.

No bicycle racks will be implemented in order to easily make the switch from bicycle to car parking. Everyone has a kickstand anyway - readers may recall the Bicycle Parking Zones project in Copenhagen a couple of years ago - so that's hardly an issue.

Cyclists are asked to move their bicycles before 17:00 and motorists are asked to move their cars before 07:00. Cars are not allowed to stop in the zone either, in order to allow bicycles to park in the morning before school. The City, as it does with many projects, lets citizens text their opinion about the pilot project. If you're in Copenhagen and wish to comment about it, text the word Parkering and your comment to 1220.

The project is in conjunction with the Ctiy of Copenhagen's Safe Routes to School initative.

Related posts:

- Bicycle Racks With No Racks in Copenhagen

- Artistic Parking Zones in the Netherlands.
- Cargo Bike Parking Inside a 'Car'