Katja Kircher
banner
katjakircher.bsky.social
Katja Kircher
@katjakircher.bsky.social
Research Leader at VTI, Sweden. Sustainable transport, active travel. Cycling long and short distances.

eng/swe/ger
"Use bicycle bell!" Lund's solution to their own horrendous planning. Four lanes for cars. Cyclists surely sort out who'll get the first try to not get stuck in the fence with their handlebars. Pedestrians are expected to dissolve. In which way exactly does the bicycle bell help here?
November 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Vi ville undersöka frågan systematiskt, men har hittills fått avslag två gånger. Tycker ni att det är viktigt att ta fram information om detta som underlag för möjliga framtida beslut?
November 4, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Det tål att sägas igen. Omkörningar av cyklande ska ske med ett helt filbyte. Det borde vara en självklarhet att man gör allt för att inte skrämma och hota andra människor som befinner sig i ens närhet. Det är varken coolt eller starkt att utnyttja makt.
October 23, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Snacka om att förvränga ett budskap - If och vi (VTI) gjorde en enkätundersökning och publicerar ett första resultat under rubriken "Så många bilister erkänner osäkra omkörningar av cyklister": via.tt.se/pressmeddela...

Vad tycker då Carup är en bra rubriksättning? -->
Ny undersökning: Så många bilister erkänner osäkra omkörningar av cyklister | If Skadeförsäkring
En ny undersökning från If om samspelet mellan bilister och cyklister, visar att en majoritet av svenska bilförare någon gång har kört om cyklister på ett osäkert sätt på landsväg. Endast fyra av tio ...
via.tt.se
October 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Conclusions from our recently published paper:

"The take-home lesson is that the problem of drivers failing to check for cyclists in a turn situation is confirmed by several studies with various methods, suggesting it is a global concern given the current design of traffic infrastructure. ...
Redirecting
doi.org
October 16, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
SNÄLLA SKRIV UNDER!!!
Vi behöver 10 000 undertecknare idag. Just nu är det 7 707.
Sprid och dela!!!
www.mittskifte.org/petitions/st...
Stoppa förslaget om att omvandla permanenta uppehållstillstånd till tillfälliga
• Permanenta uppehållstillstånd har getts som ett löfte om trygghet – det löftet får inte brytas. • Människor behöver stabilitet för att kunna integreras och bygga sina liv i Sverige. • Att göra perma...
www.mittskifte.org
September 29, 2025 at 11:22 AM
One almost wonders which transport mode has an engine. One of a thousand examples where bikes cover more altitude than cars. And often there are steep ramps. But hey, we're cycling for exercise, right?
September 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I so wish that tyre and engine noise would be heard inside instead of outside of the vehicle. It's gruelling and mind-numbing to ride on a "perfectly safe" bike path next to a road full of cars.
September 28, 2025 at 10:48 AM
"Road safety is a shared responsibility!" I do my part by choosing a vehicle that does not kill others*. What's your contribution?

*Yes, there is the odd case where the other party got killed in a collision with a bike. On a system level, the point is still valid.
September 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
Not quite sure. It's rare to see cars share space instead of dominating it. The non-car user mass would have to be really big compared to the car volume if cars are to behave subdued enough to consider it sharing.

I have my suspicions.
Rule 77: Build Naked Streets & Shared Spaces

A chaotic Main St in Poynton, UK cut signals, signs, & curbs—creating a shared plaza. Handles 25K cars/day—no congestion, & 0 crashes.

Shared streets calm traffic & revive public space.

Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...
August 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
On Saturday I learnt by experience what an impact at 30 kph means for the body. I assure you, it's not pleasant. It appears cynical to think that this is an acceptable speed to hit people with cars.
July 1, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Let's hope and actively work for a change. It's not on for a country like Sweden, with its pride in "Vision Zero" and equality, to obstruct and ignore a transport mode that does not endanger others and enables equality.
June 13, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Bikes on trains in Sweden, episode 443981: Going from Linköping to Emmaboda over the weekend, around 250 km. Without bike: 1 change. With bike: 4 changes. Obviously no guarantee to get the bike onto the train. Already 4 bikes on the platform. Taking an earlier option just in case of failure.
June 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
Otroligt äckligt att Sveriges mäktigaste politiker ger sig på Greta på det sätt de gör.
June 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
Yes, and this isn't something where a "compromise" is going to make sense: "You can keep your unjustified privilege as long as you only hurt us less than a lot."
The negotiations we're forced into:

The world: Cars everywhere!

Me: Ban cars.

Ok, now that we've voiced our opinions on how urban infrastructure should be allocated, we can start to negotiate.
June 11, 2025 at 7:14 AM
How cynical is this world where one can kill children with cars and this is accepted as normal ("nothing wrong"), but where the killed child's parents get charged for letting their kids be "unsupervised" in public space?
This is where we're headed every time we discuss wearing hi-viz.

""At this time, there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed,"

I guess mowing down a child with your SUV isn't wrong...

abcnews.go.com/US/parents-c...
Parents charged with manslaughter after their 7-year-old son fatally struck by car in North Carolina
The child was attempting to cross the street outside of a crosswalk with another boy when he was struck by a Jeep Cherokee, police said.
abcnews.go.com
June 6, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
"Vad som anses vara brott mot rikets säkerhet förändras över tid. Enligt somliga är exempelvis klimataktivism ett sådant. Enligt andra är granskande journalistik det. Saker som händer i andra länder kan också hända i Sverige, vi är inte immuna mot fascism."

www.vk.se/2025-05-26/m...
Sofia Mirjamsdotter: Vad har Forssell gjort för att förtjäna sitt medborgarskap?
Vad som anses vara brott mot rikets säkerhet förändras över tid. Enligt somliga är exempelvis klimataktivism ett sådant. Enligt andra är granskande journalistik det. Saker som händer i andra länder ka...
www.vk.se
May 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Bikes on trains in Sweden, episode 443765. Two more wanted to get on. Would have been easy any other time. This time conductor refused on a whim, saying max one more. Next train cancelled. One hour to next train after that. Sustainable travel in Sweden, just forget it.
May 29, 2025 at 7:59 AM
It shows how deeply rooted carbrain is in our society when even the left side of the political spectrum considers it "necessary" to make public transport users instead private car users pay.
Raising already high prices for public transport. Meanwhile car drivers are laughing with fuel subsidies, free parking, and free access to the center.

Just burden the drivers a little and kollektivtrafiken will have enough funding, space, no delays in car queues, etc.

www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...
Styret vill höja biljettpriserna i kollektivtrafiken i Uppsala: ”Nödvändigt”
Regionstyret bestående av S, V, C och MP föreslår att höja biljettpriserna i Uppsalas kollektivtrafik. UL:s månatliga vuxenbiljett föreslås höjas med 50 kronor. – Det är nödvändigt, vi behöver tillräc...
www.svt.se
May 28, 2025 at 3:50 PM
To follow up on this - had written a proposal to the annual meeting to take away the free parking for cars. The steering group opposed that, and the annual meeting voted against it. Unfortunately I could not be present at the meeting. Very disappointed by Friskis & Svettis Linköping!
When your gym asks you to sort plastic bottles, because they ❤️ the environment, and at the same time let people coming by bike subsidise car drivers' parking. While not even providing any proper bike parking. Carbrain forever.
May 28, 2025 at 9:51 AM
In a conversation about transport politics today, the other three agreed wholeheartedly how bizarre it was when a transport politician or planner didn't have a driver's licence. But did anyone of them discuss whether they'd have to be cycling? Scootering? Even walking? (Spoiler: no.)
May 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Sustainable travel in Sweden: Trying to get myself and my bike from Linköping to somewhere outside of Borås. Train takes forever (and they don't really take bikes). Bus (Vy) says on homepage they don't take bikes. Solution: 4 regional trains (4 h trip), then ride 50K. Amazing.
May 19, 2025 at 10:08 AM
"Är du aktivist, eller?!" Forskare och aktivist, får man vara det? Måste man kanske vara det? Alltså, stå upp för de resultat som forskningen får fram? Tipsar om ett webbinarium på cykelns dag om just denna frågeställning: cykelcentrum.vti.se/larande---ku...
Är du aktivist eller?!
Var går egentligen gränsen mellan att vara engagerad i sitt arbete och att vara aktivist? Många blir ifrågasatta i sin profession, som forskare eller tjänstepersoner, om de verkligen är sakliga, om de...
cykelcentrum.vti.se
May 13, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen) reviewed the work of the Swedish government and several authorities re the goal to improve conditions for cycling. The critique is harsh and well worth reading. We want to see improvements now. www.riksrevisionen.se/download/18....
www.riksrevisionen.se
May 13, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Katja Kircher
I really hope this project fails. Luxury/high-end flying, really?

And what sort of journalist doesn't even touch on the topic of emissions and ethics in an article about a startup luxury airline?

edition.cnn.com/2025/05/09/t...
Global Airlines promised luxurious flights on a fleet of A380 superjumbos. The launch is somewhat different | CNN
An airline with a fleet consisting only of Airbus A380 superjumbos sounds like an aviation geek’s dream. Now Global Airlines is making its debut flights, it’s now a reality — but so far not quite the ...
edition.cnn.com
May 10, 2025 at 5:27 PM