Copenhagen City Hall hosted a roundtable meeting on August 20 about the many tourists on the city’s cycle paths. Participants agreed on proposals including fewer shared e-bikes and more information for visiting cyclists.
According to DR, two Copenhagen mayors met earlier in the day with a range of actors from cycling and tourism. The aim was to gather input on the challenges created by foreign tourists cycling around the city.
Fewer shared e-bikes and better information for tourists were among the proposals that the participants agreed on. DR reports that Copenhagen has authorized up to 15,000 shared e-bikes, and that around 13,000 are estimated to be on the streets at present.
Employment, Integration and Business Mayor Andreas Keil (S) said many new ideas and proposals came up during the meeting. He told DR that the plan is now to draft what is called a common understanding paper, containing shared guidelines agreed by the parties.
Per Keil, the paper will also set out both short-term and long-term initiatives. He said the participants will now review the ideas, circulate a draft, and that he hopes new initiatives can be presented before the next wave of tourists arrives in the summer of 2027.
Climate, Environment and Technical Affairs Mayor Line Barfod (EL) said there was general agreement that action is needed. As stated by Barfod, the city needs permission to regulate rental e-bikes and to provide far more shared information to tourists who want to experience Copenhagen by bike. She said City Hall now has a common basis it can take to Christiansborg.
Kenneth Øhrberg Krag, director of the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, Cyklistforbundet, described the meeting as timely. He said 25 different actors were in the room and that there was complete agreement on the need to regulate the shared-bike sector. He added that he hopes the minister will allow Copenhagen and other municipalities to regulate the number of shared bikes.
DR reports that it was not possible to obtain a comment from Minister for Cities, Rural Districts and Transport Signe Munk (SF).
Background to the meeting
The Copenhagen Post reported on August 7 that Keil and Barfod planned the roundtable with bike rental companies, hotels, tourism organizations and safety experts. It cited an Epinion survey for the Danish Road Safety Council showing that eight in ten Copenhagen cyclists see tourist cyclists as a safety problem. The council also ran an information campaign for visiting cyclists in early summer 2026.
The hotel and restaurant association HORESTA reported on August 7 that hotels renting out bikes should play a greater role in informing guests about Danish traffic law and local cycling in Copenhagen habits. According to HORESTA, the first initiatives from the process were expected before the end of 2026.
