Presented at the Pecha Kucha session of the Winter Cycling Congress 2020 (https://www.wintercyclingcongress2020.fi/). With Jani Lukkarinen & Virpi Ansio.

1. Winter Cycling Congress 2020 / Joensuu, Finland 7th
Feb 2020 / Pecha Kucha session
Juhana Venäläinen
Joensuun Polkijat ry
Jani Lukkarinen
Joensuun Polkijat ry
Virpi Ansio
Finnish Transport and
Communications Agency

2. +
with financial support from the Finnish Transport Agency
(the state subsidy for mobility management).
“Development plan for bicycle commuting in Joensuu” (2018)
implemented byfunded by

3. 1. What we did we do?
2. What did we learn?
3. What about winter?

4. What did we do?
1. Reviewed projects and literature on promoting bicycle commuting.
2. Analysed quantitative data about travel patterns in Joensuu.
3. Launched an online survey (n=822) focusing on commuters’
travel mode choices and motivating factors.

5. From the respondents of the survey,
we chose 5 volunteers to try out
an e-bike for one month instead of
driving a car to work.

6. Factors considered:
• Gender
• Age
• Profession
• Fitness (self-assessed)
• Specific transportation needs
(e.g., takes children to daycare/
school; multiple workplaces;
etc.)
à maximising diversity in
the test group

7. Juhana Venäläinen
M, 23 yrs, bus driver, commutes 9 km
F, 27 yrs, day care nurse, commutes 5 km
F, 50 yrs, project specialist, commutes 4 km (+ more during the workday)
M, 32 yrs, automation designer, commutes 12 km
F, 59 yrs, accountant, commutes 15 km (+ to hobbies after work)

8. The test period
(Sep 2018)
— Free to use e-bike + accessories
+ assistance for 1 month
— Documentation: GPS, video,
interviews, workshops, self-
evaluation
— 166 recorded trips
— Avg distance: 8 km
— Avg speed: 22 km/h

9. What did we learn?

10. 1. Distance is not the problem.
• Myth: Bicycle commuting is marginal because the distances are so long.
• Reality: Over 2/3 of the commuting trips in Joensuu are under 10 km.

11. 2. Infrastructure is not
a huge problem, either.
• Testers gave an average of “8” to the routes they used.
• However, temporary traffic arrangements and
shared lanes caused some harm.

12. — Juhana Venäläinen

13. 3. Weather is not a problem – as such.
• But there’s a need for concise information about the clothing options
and useful accessories for the trickier weather conditions.
flickr.com / naturalflow [edited]
3. Weather is not an issue – as such.
• But there’s a lack of knowledge about the available clothing options and
accessories for trickier weather conditions.
• In the survey, there was also some criticism towards the quality of
winter maintenance.

14. 4. “E” stands for equality.
• Testers were positively surprised by the speed of e-bike commuting,
rendering distances of 5–10 km easily accessible.
• Electric assistance levels the playing field as to the differences in
route hilliness or rider’s fitness.
Inka Kangaslampi

16. 5. Theoretically, there’s a
huge growth potential
for bicycle commuting
in Joensuu!
Karjalainen 19 Feb 2019: “Report:
The share of bicycle
commuting could be tripled
in the Joensuu core urban region”

17. Three important groups for increasing the
modal share of bicycle commuting:
1. Habitual car-drivers
2. Seasonal (summer) cyclists ß
3. “On-and-off” cyclists / multimodalists

18. About 45 % of cyclists in Joensuu continue cycling year-round. (*)
Good, but could it be better, and how?
(*) An estimate based on data from the Ylisoutajansilta traffic counter and the commuting survey.

19. Iina Martiskainen
Hypothesis:
transition period is the key
à After surviving the ice and slush,
a ”proper winter” is a relief.
à In northern cities, snowhow is already strong, but also slushhow
and icehow should also be emphasised.
à In Joensuu, we are still not used to the “eternal November”.

20. Thank
you!
More information:
www.icyclejns.fi/tyomatkapyoraily
(in Finnish)
juhana.venalainen@gmail.com