Presentation

Year-round cycling in Finland from the maintenance point of view

2025

Summary

This presentation, delivered by Timo Perälä of the Winter Cycling Federation and Navico Oy to the Interreg Baltic Sea Region BATS project in February 2025, provides an overview of year-round cycling in Finland, with particular emphasis on winter maintenance, infrastructure planning, service management and municipal decision-making. The presentation combines findings from Finnish winter cycling research, the 2024 Winter Cyclist Profile Survey involving more than 1,700 respondents, and practical experience from winter maintenance development in several Finnish cities. It examines differences in cycling cultures, user satisfaction, winter cycling behaviour and the quality of maintenance services, highlighting how local policies and operational practices influence year-round cycling conditions. A comparative review of Oulu, Helsinki, Turku and Kuopio illustrates different approaches to prioritising cycling routes, organising winter maintenance contracts and applying service quality standards. Particular attention is given to Oulu's dedicated Super Class winter maintenance contract and its user-based quality monitoring system, known as Winter Maintenance Agents. The presentation documents customer satisfaction results from 2016 to 2023, showing an increase in the average rating from 3.77 during the first contract period to 4.43 during the second, on a five-point scale. The presentation also examines the economic and strategic dimensions of winter maintenance. It compares maintenance expenditure with broader municipal spending priorities and presents scenario-based estimates of potential health, productivity and mobility benefits from increasing year-round cycling. These calculations illustrate potential benefits rather than independently verified outcomes. A central message is that high-quality winter maintenance cannot be achieved through operational improvements alone. Winter conditions must be considered throughout the urban development process, from land-use planning and street design to construction, procurement, maintenance operations and quality supervision. The presentation identifies organisational silos, insufficient snow storage space, inadequate drainage, limited maintenance budgets and weak contract management as recurring barriers. Drawing on the Finnish guidance publication "Kunnossapito kuntoon!" (2023), the presentation advocates user-oriented maintenance planning, better procurement practices, clearer quality requirements, continuous monitoring and stronger political commitment. It emphasises that winter maintenance should be treated as a strategic investment in accessibility, health, safety and sustainable mobility rather than simply an operational expense. The presentation offers an accessible introduction for municipal decision-makers, transport planners, maintenance authorities and practitioners seeking to understand how Finnish cities have developed year-round cycling and what lessons can be transferred to other winter cities.

Topics

Maintenance & Operations Policy, Strategy & Governance Health, Safety & Wellbeing

Target audience

Politicians Policy makers

Mode

Cycling

Conditions

Winter

Countries

Finland(Oulu, Kuopio, Turku, Helsinki)

Language

English