For more than three months, 14 citizens, three regional politicians and two municipal politicians met in a committee to discuss travel by bus, train and bike.
Together, the committee discussed challenges and solutions, with professional input from the mobility company Movia and Passagerpulsen, which is part of the Danish Consumer Council.
“The Capital Region of Denmark has an ambition to get more people out of their cars and over to public transport and bicycles. If we are to succeed, it’s crucial that we listen to the public, and what they think is important".
"The committee and the citizens have presented some very good recommendations for we politicians take further,” said the chair of the committee and member of the Regional Council, Marianne Frederik (Red-Green Alliance).
Simple ticketing system and good facilities
The 14 citizens on the committee have experience using public transport in everyday life. Together with the politicians, they have come up with six recommendations to encourage more people to use public transport.
The recommendations include a more simple and uniform ticketing system, good hubs with parking for cars and bicycles, traffic lights that give priority to busses, better signage in stations, and good facilities at stations such as 24-hour toilet facilities and sheltered waiting areas.
A place for everyone to meet
28-year-old Emil Bruun Jørgensen is one of the 14 citizens on the committee. He travels by public transport and he joined the committee because he wants to help improve the services. During the work he was asked about what he believed was important.
“One of the biggest eye-openers for me has been the importance of the facilities at stations. Shelters may seem basic, but if they aren’t there they can deter people from using the facility. And what’s good about public transport is that it’s a place where everyone can meet. So it just doesn’t work if we don’t offer something for everyone,” says Emil Bruun Jørgensen.
The committee primarily focused on people’s total journey, across the region, and across private, public and shared types of mobility, and they have looked at what is needed to create better cohesion.
This is the sixth time that politicians in the Capital Region of Denmark have set up this type of committee. Previous committees have addressed topics such as the corona pandemic, young people with mental illness and addiction, as well as pregnancy and birth.
The committee’s recommendations were presented to the Regional Council on Tuesday, 16 May, and they are now part of the work of the transport and regional development committee.
The six recommendations
- One simple ticketing system: e.g. easy and uniform rules
- More information: e.g. better wayfinding and signage in stations
- The good hub: e.g. protected bicycle parking and security guards
- Good facilities: e.g. 24-hour toilets and more waiting facilities with shelters.
- Better connections: e.g. broad cover of outlying areas and between municipal boundaries
- Busses have first priority: e.g. more bus lanes and priority traffic lights
Further information
- Marianne Frederik, member of the Regional Council, chair of the committee for bus, train and bicycle travel. +45 41434517/ marianne.frederik@regionh.dk
- Public Relations Unit in the Capital Region of Denmark, tel.: +45 7020 9588/ presse@regionh.dk