Winter Cyclist Campaign: Results from the 2015–2016 Season

Summary

The Winter Cyclist (Talven Pyöräilijä) campaign in Oulu, Finland, was designed to encourage people who normally cycled only during warmer months to continue cycling throughout winter. This report presents the implementation, results and participant feedback from the 2015–2016 campaign season, the third edition of an initiative organised over four winters between 2013 and 2017. The campaign addressed common barriers to winter cycling, including fear of falling, inadequate equipment, perceived discomfort and concerns about winter maintenance. Participants who had not previously cycled actively during winter were recruited through an open application process. They received practical support, including studded winter tyres, helmets and bicycle lights where needed, and were encouraged to cycle their everyday trips two to three times per week. The programme combined equipment support, motivational communication, group activities, social media engagement, events, small rewards and digital tracking through Finland's Kilometrikisa platform. The campaign ran from 15 November 2015 to 31 March 2016. A total of 118 participants regularly reported their cycling activity, recording approximately 65,460 kilometres. The end-of-campaign survey received 72 responses. Of these respondents, 96% stated that they intended to continue winter cycling in subsequent years, while the average rating for the campaign's perceived impact on personal wellbeing was 4.4 out of 5. Participants also reported improvements in confidence, everyday physical activity and attitudes towards cycling in cold and snowy conditions. The report includes an economic assessment estimating €22,911 in benefits for the campaign season, based on an assumed benefit of €0.35 per kilometre when cycling replaces car travel. A longer-term scenario estimated benefits of €301,050 over 20 years, compared with campaign costs of approximately €10,000. These figures are model-based estimates rather than independently verified long-term outcomes. The evaluation also identifies continuing challenges, particularly uneven winter maintenance quality and difficult conditions caused by slush, ice and refreezing. Participant feedback provides practical insights into how maintenance quality and behavioural support interact in enabling year-round cycling. This case offers a transferable model for cities seeking to convert seasonal cyclists into year-round cyclists through a combination of targeted recruitment, practical equipment support, encouragement, community engagement and structured evaluation. It also illustrates how relatively small-scale mobility management campaigns can document participation, perceived wellbeing benefits, behavioural intentions and potential economic value.

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