Umeå, Sweden

Umeå is the largest city in northern Sweden, located in the province of Västerbotten. The city breathes culture, history and natural beauty. Umeå Municipality has a population of roughly 130 000 and is known for Umeå University, which has about 35 000 students, giving the city a rather young population.

Umeå Kommun has environmental goals based on increasing the number of people travelling sustainably in the city and decreasing the number travelling alone by car. With several street reconstruction projects running throughout the city, new methods for civilians to travel around the city must be considered. The goal for Umeå’s activities throughout the project will be to encourage citizens to adopt more sustainable transport methods during this phase of street redevelopment.

Within the BATS project, Umeå Kommun will run three main pilot activities across the city.

Firstly, Umeå Municipality will offer citizens the use of electric bikes free of charge to try a new mode of transport, with the objective of boosting year-round active mobility and encouraging local people to try a new mode of transport in the long-term, resulting ultimately in the adoption of sustainable travel habits. Additionally, citizens will be encouraged to try public transport, also free of charge, for a longer period. It is hoped that the use of public transport can be maintained during street redevelopment phases, leading to a reduction of single use car journeys in the city.

Throughout the project lifetime, the Umeå Municipality team will develop working models for planning and implementing behaviour-influencing measures during the street reconstruction projects. Activities will be followed closely and the results and work model implemented in Umeå Municipality’s regular operations. Additionally, the results of the pilot experiments will be presented to local politicians, the public, and other municipalities.

The second set of pilot activities within Umeå Municipality will focus on the development of a communication system related to winter maintenance and YRAM. Generally, the number of cyclists and pedestrians is lower during the winter seasons, mainly explained by deep snow during this time of year. In a hope to boost YRAM adoption, Umeå Municipality will seek to improve the way of communicating with the public regarding winter maintenance, including providing real-time information about the current state of bicycle lanes and which routes will be cleared of snow first. The possibility of introducing an app or website to aid this communication has been raised, with information about local tram opportunities also available. Through the enhancement of the existing communication system, it is hoped that more civilians will adopt YRAM in Umeå due to increased knowledge on live snow clearing, route optimisation, and active mobility in the city.

Thirdly, the team will use the experience of the BATS project to test new opportunities for lighting throughout the city. Due to Umeå’s location in the far North of Sweden, there is less daylight than central Europe during the winter season. Therefore, Umeå Municipality would like to trial lighting adapted for the proximity of people as well as lights that can project information directly onto snow. Through this pilot intervention, it is hoped that safety conditions will be increased in areas that would otherwise be unlit, resulting in heightened safety perceptions during darkness and in winter and thus, an increase in YRAM users in the city.

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