Bike City - two wheels outnumber four for first time ever in Copenhagen

Two wheels are better than four – at least in Copenhagen.

For the first time since records were taken of such things, there were more bikes on the roads than cars in November, as the Danish capital bids to become a “cycling city”.

Counters for the local council recorded a number of 265,700 bikes and just 252,600 cars.

More than 35,000 more bikes are being used in Copenhagen now than a year ago and overall the number of bikes being ridden in the city is up almost 70% on 20 years ago.

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The city council has been carrying out manual traffic counts across Copenahgen since 1970, reports the Guardian.

When the counts started there were 351,133 cars and 100,071 bikes – and at the same time, Copenhagen’s population has been steadily growing.

It switched to electrical counts across 20 different locations in 2009 in its bid to become a cycling city.

Copenhagen has invested more than 100 million in cycling infrastructure in the past decade or so and officials says he wants parts of the city to become car free.

“The important thing for me is to have a green transport system. As long as it’s fossil-free and alleviates congestion and air pollution, I’m cool with that,” Morten Kabell, the current mayor of technical and environmental affairs, told the Guardian.