Who Cycles in Winter? Seasonal Cycling and Mode Share Change in Northern Sweden

Travel survey data from Umeå, Sweden, show that lower winter bicycle share is part of a broader seasonal reallocation of urban travel. Cycling declines sharply in winter, while walking and bus shares increase. The accompanying mode-share changes differ across groups: men show larger increases in walking, women show larger increases in bus use, and work and education trips retain higher winter bicycle shares than shopping and leisure trips. These findings suggest that winter cycling should be analyzed together with walking and public transport, and that seasonal mobility patterns vary by gender and trip purpose.