Middle class Danes cycle because they "can't afford to drive a car", claims former US ambassador to... Denmark

It's telling that the person was an ambassador under the Trumpster and reveals the total lack of insight and understanding you'd expect.

Having lived and worked in Copenhagen I can confirm that cycling to work is encouraged and supported by employers, and above all it is safe. Combined with the health benefits of starting your day with some exercise the reduction in travel stress is wonderful. Infrastructure is not only built, it is maintained including clearing leaves in the autumn and snow in the winter. It's like the city council not only cared to build but also to make it year round practical. Result!

It's true that cars are madly expensive in Denmark due to the sales tax on new vehicles (25% VAT plus a sliding scale of registration tax ranging from a 25% base up to 150% on any part of the purchase price over 202,000 dkk (about £23,000)) but there's more to the nondriving culture than that: I have an English friend who lives in Copenhagen and according to him the concept of using a car for a short journey is generally met with bemusement and/or ridicule, and people driving expensive cars are often simply laughed at, it's regarded as vulgarity to display your wealth in that way. The same applies to ostentatious housing, it's not uncommon for a CEO and a low-level employee to live in the same area or even on the same street. Many companies have salary policies that tie executive remuneration to the salary of the lowest-paid employees, so if the people at the top want more money they have to raise the salary of those at the bottom. It all sounds rather healthy really.

Meanwhile the Dutch Ambassador in New Zealand sells the official car and buys an ebike....
https://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/128749385/mode-shift-dutc...

Cars per head of population isn't much lower in Denmark than here, despite punitive purchase taxes. And fuel isn't much more expensive (at the moment). So - given their relative wealth - it seems unlikely to be primarily a cost thing. They have designed their roads to be cycle-friendly, their cities aren't so sprawling, and their public transport probably better than most of the UK (and certainly the US). So less car use is probably a positive choice in most cases. Having visited friends there a few times, it just seems a normal thing to do for people of all ages.

Carla, the sands of time are running out, for you.

As we speak, I'm on a week long break between a job with a 30 mile each way drive, and a job with a 4 mile each way cycle. Far from being too poor to afford a car, I'll be cycling because its the best option for my time, my health, the planet and my bank balance.
I will actually be wealthier, by cycling.

Presumably they eat rye bread because it's more affordable than wheat, and pickled herrings are popular because they don't require expensive cooking?

It is true that cars are expensive compared to bikes.  And I'm sure they are not cheap in Denmark.  Thing is though for generations we have both subsidised motoring and made it a "requirement".  Partly through deliberate policy (Carlton Reid can put you right on that) and partly "it just happened that way".  Question is - who's brave enough / has enough energy to rebalance things so that they "work" with much less car use?  I see very little of that at the larger scales of politics.  I believe there are a lot of people who would be cycling more given suitable conditions.  Few have the time / energy / commitment to push hard / shout loud for that though.

Ubiquity wins (and is self-reinforcing) even if it's expensive and bad for everyone by most measures.  That might explain this kind of thing.   Unless you think it's something in the water which has somehow spread to Paris, Seville, Malmo...

"In Denmark, most people eat Smørrebrød. Because even the relatively richer Danish people can't afford a second slice of bread to make a proper sandwich. Very sad indeed!"

"I'm Danish, and this is true. Whilst biking to work in the constant snowstorms we also have to fight off at least ten polar bears and angry mobs of jotuns! We have to share our toothbrushes with the entire neighbourhood AND are only allowed to eat state rations of kale!"

I thought it was more a sign of wealth that you could afford to live close enough to the office, that you didn't need a car.

The relevant phrase here is 'ambassador under the trump administration'. That is, another republican nutjob.