A free ferry
With a clear vision for a car-free Djurgården, seven of Djurgården’s attractions joined forces to show that accessibility to Scandinavia’s #1 attraction needs to be improved. How? They financed and test-drove their own ferry line for a month during summer 2019. The ferry took visitors between Nybroplan and Allmänna Gränd at Djurgården. The results indicated that the need was real.
More boat departures for a car-free Djurgården
From 28th June to 28th July 2019, Stockholmers and visitors in the city were able to take the free ferry route between Nybroplan and Allmänna Gränd at Djurgården. It ran four times per hour in both directions between 10:00 and 16:00. The ferry was free of charge.
“We need to improve accessibility to Djurgården; there is plenty of space for more boat traffic. Through our initiative, we want to draw attention to this. At the same time, we want to offer our visitors a smooth and beautiful trip to Djurgården“, says Camilla Zedendahl, CEO of the Royal Djurgården Society. Over one million visitors visit Gröna Lund, Pop House, Liljevalchs, the Vasa Museum and Skansen during the month of July. And as many visitors will come here to enjoy a walk, picnic, museum or restaurant visit. During this period, the existing modes of transport reach full capacity.
Our vision for a car-free Djurgården
“We cooperate around sustainability and have a vision for a car-free Djurgården. We encourage people to walk or take public transport to get here; the problem is that there are not enough options. The new ferry will be our contribution”, says Camilla Zedendahl. “Now we want to show that there is room for more transport options. And in a city like Stockholm, the waterways should be an obvious alternative”.
“The ferry was a welcome addition to Stockholm’s transport network. An addition that I was very happy to see become a reality, not least since we need more initiatives alongside the regular public transport. I would therefore like to extend my sincere thanks to all those who contributed to making this happen, from the initial thought process to getting the ferry up and running. We need more of these types of collaborations and elements in a growing Stockholm region”, says Kristoffer Tamsons, traffic region council and chair of SL.
M / S Djurgården 4 and M / S Djurgården 7 ran the free ferry to Djurgården. It was jointly financed by Gröna Lund, Pop House Sweden, Liljevalchs, Vasamuseet, Skansen, Strömma Sweden and the Royal Djurgården Administration. In total, they financed 1,440 boat trips.
Discussions will resume in 2022
The initiative was a way of highlighting a need that exists. The ferry was filled with passengers and also meant that other routes were not as busy. After the decline during the summer of 2020 and the expected decline in 2021 as a result of the pandemic, we will resume discussions on improving public transport options to Djurgården. Djurgården is important for both Stockholmers and tourists and the tourism industry in general.
The free ferry was the result of a joint local venture (17.17)
The free ferry is a safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport system (11.2)
