Skip to main content

Swedish public transport map asks people to walk instead

Västtrafik creates new route map detailing how many footsteps are between stops
By Adam Hill July 1, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Västtrafik's new 'walking' map of Gothenburg (credit: Forsman & Bodenfors)

A public transport company in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, is asking travellers to walk rather than take its buses and trams.

To promote social distancing and to ease overcrowding, Västtrafik has produced a new version of its map showing the number of steps between bus and tram stops in the city - calling it "a simple reminder that distances are actually quite short in the city centre".

“If more people have the possibility to walk instead of taking the bus or tram in Gothenburg, we encourage that," said Lars Backström, CEO of Västtrafik. 

"That way we make it safer for those who really need to use public transport."

The company says that people are already choosing alternatives to public transport post-Covid, taking the bus or cycling to work. 

More than 30% claim they walk more now compared to before the pandemic, it adds.

The new map is featured in print adverts and on billboards as part of an initiative created by Forsman & Bodenfors.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New markets for travel information apps
    November 26, 2013
    Purpose-designed travel information apps are emerging to support the real estate market in the US – and potentially more widely – in a major diversification away from the conventional automotive and navigation device sectors. In July 2013, Washington State-based Imprev, which develops web-based marketing support aids for realtors, announced its App Generator. Claimed as an industry first, this enables property businesses to create their own branded mobile apps to give away as marketing tools to potential
  • Planners must 'unhook' people from cars
    October 23, 2020
    Transport policies should provide route map to carbon net zero by 2050, says TPS
  • Enforcement needs automation and communication
    February 1, 2012
    TISPOL's Peter van de Beek questions whether the thought processes which drive enforcement technology development are always the right ones. Peter van de Beek sees an ever-greater role for technology in traffic enforcement but is concerned that the emphasis of technological development and discussion is not always in the right places. 'Old-fashioned' face-to-face policing remains as valid as it ever did, he feels, but adds that there should be greater communication with those engaged at the sharp end of saf
  • Dubai stays in The Loop
    February 20, 2023
    93km-long 'sustainable urban highway' aims to connect active travel and public transport