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

  • Real time GPS tracking on school buses drives efficiencies
    January 25, 2012
    Application of real time GPS tracking to school buses is driving operational efficiencies and allowing parents to follow their childern's movements, report Jason Barnes
  • How can US transportation be ‘re-envisioned’?
    October 17, 2019
    In her address to this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting, congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, called for a ‘re-envisioning’ of transportation. Her speech is below – and ITS International asks a number of US experts what they would like to see ‘re-envisioned’…

    I would like to welcome  ITS America to the nation’s capital.

  • Spin: work with cities to optimise micromobility
    September 15, 2020
    E-scooter providers must form close partnerships with local governments to create a successful operating environment which the public will accept and embrace, says Spin
  • Cloud computing technology benefits GIS
    July 17, 2012
    Geographic Information Systems are a relatively late adopter of cloud computing,but the benefits of host services for geospatial data and analysis are becoming clear. Jason Barnes reports Both the concept and the reality of cloud computing have been around for some time. More and more industry sectors are entrusting external service providers with the provision of their computing services via the internet. However, the Geographic Information System (GIS) industry has been slow to embrace the trend. This is