Half of all max 20-km trips are made in Lappeenranta either on foot or by bike

442 city residents responded to an online travel survey concerning modes of transport carried out by the city of Lappeenranta in May 2014. 85% of the respondents were working age, between 26 and 62. Based on the survey results, half of max 20-km trips that are made in Lappeenranta are done either on foot or by bike. The percentage share of cycling is exceptionally high and the percentage share of trips made by car relatively low compared to other cities of the same size.

The survey explored what modes of transport the people of Lappeenranta use for trips of 1–20 kilometres. Of the respondents, 29% cycled, 20% walked, 41% drove a car and only 6% took the bus. The rest of the respondents used, for example, a motorcycle, a moped, a van or a lorry.

In total, 2017 kilometres of distance travelled in 456 days of travel were recorded in the survey. There were 52 more male respondents than female respondents.

Design Engineer Mauri Backman of the city of Lappeenranta’s Technical Services was surprised by the large percentage share of trips made by bike.

‒ It may be that cyclists are more motivated to respond to the survey than car drivers but, on the basis of the results, cycling is increasing its popularity. The percentage share of cycling in cities of similar size is usually 15%, whereas here it was almost twice that. Correspondingly, the percentage share of car drivers is usually 20% higher than what was reported by the respondents of the travel survey. The percentage share of public transport use, on the other hand, corresponds with the figures of other cities, Backman says about the results.

Based on the distances travelled, Backman’s conclusion is that bikes are mainly used for trips up to three kilometres, while a car or bus is used for trips longer than three kilometres. Walking is preferred for trips less than two kilometres.

The data on the preferred modes of transport of the city residents collected through the travel survey will be taken into account in the improvement of traffic safety and the development of pathways suitable for each mode of transport in Lappeenranta. The plan is to consistently collect such data in the long term. The next travel survey will be carried out in May 2015.

A drawing was organised among all the survey respondents, with the prize being a gift card to Holiday Club Saimaa. The lucky winner was Arja Ylä-Outinen, from Kourula.