Copenhagen currently counts around 13,000 shared electric bikes on its streets, and the city’s Lord Mayor wants that number heading downwards, not up. Sisse Marie Welling (SF) has laid out a plan aimed squarely at what she describes as “wobbling tourists” on shared e-bikes, with the goal of making Copenhagen’s bike lanes feel safer again.
A safety concern, not just an annoyance
Writing in a Facebook post, Welling pointed to a rise in people killed or injured in e-bike related traffic accidents as the reason the city needs to act. She framed the issue as one of safety for everyone involved, tourists included, arguing that while Copenhagen genuinely welcomes visitors, that shouldn’t come at the cost of creating unsafe conditions for cyclists on the city’s bike lanes. In comments to TV 2, she described unsteady tourist cyclists as a hazard both to themselves and to the Copenhageners sharing the same lanes.
Cycling licence tourists Copenhagen: what’s actually being proposed
At the centre of Welling’s proposal is a kind of cycling licence for visitors. Under the plan, shared e-bikes would only unlock once a rider has completed a short virtual course covering the basics of Danish traffic rules, a system she describes as understanding the frustration behind all the wobbling tourists currently out on shared e-bikes.
Helmets are part of the proposal too, though with a lighter touch. Welling suggested colour coding rental helmets so tourists using them are easy to identify at a glance. Making helmets mandatory for every rider is a separate question, though, and one she says should be left up to Copenhageners themselves to decide rather than being dictated from the mayor’s office. She has also acknowledged that requiring helmets specifically for tourists would need a change in national law from Christiansborg, putting that particular piece outside the city’s own hands for now.
Sisse Marie Welling e-bikes plan reaches city hall this week
The timing lines up with a broader push already underway inside Copenhagen’s local government. The city’s Employment, Integration and Business Committee is holding a meeting this Thursday specifically to address the challenges posed by foreign tourists cycling around the city. The Danish Road Safety Council has also already been working on its own angle, running a campaign aimed at helping cycling tourists get up to speed on local road rules before they set off.
