Norwegian cycling policy - on track

The report investigates the development of Norwegian cycling politics from the bicycle was introduced in transport policy making in the 70s up todays’ close to breakthrough for cycling on the public agenda. The methodological approach has been policy document analyses and informant interviews, at the central and local level, from the public and the non-profit private sector. Three cases studies have investigated the facilitation for the bicycle in the three major Norwegian cities, Bergen, Kristiansand and Trondheim. We notice that the bicycle has reached a salient rhetorical support in Norwegian politics, especially in the last decade. Prevailing policy documents reveals strong, specific and quantitative policy goals, both centrally and locally. However, it seems to be a growing gap between the goals and the very realisation of a bicycle share up - from five to eight percent now within eight years. Weak organisation, lack of plan production and low prioritization of investment funds are important factors behind the poor implementation. A more integrated view in policy making at the technical bicycle infrastructure and new cultural meanings the bicycle is embedded in, provides a normalisation of the bicycle as a significant mode of transport, especially in the cities.