Getting around Lund
Lund is small, flat and full to bursting with financially challenged students, so it’s no surprise that cycling is the preferred mode of transport. We’ll show you how to get your hands on a set of wheels, but if you want to explore the outskirts of town (or are simply visiting Lund when it’s snowing) then it’s worth getting a feel for the local bus network too.
By bus
Lund’s buses are colour coded. Yellow ones take care of regional journeys but are now a rare sight in the centre. Green city buses (stadsbussar) are the ones you’re most likely to encounter when moving around the city.
There are seven main city bus lines (numbered 1–6 & 9) that run in an anti-clockwise loop around the old centre. These travel from the train station to the cathedral, and on to the city library. The city bus lines then head out into Lund’s suburbs in different directions, making it easy to reach hotels and attractions on the edge of town.
Two additional city bus lines head north from Lund’s train station: number 21 goes to the little village of Stångby, while number 20 travels through the city’s science parks and up to the European Spallation Source (still under construction at the time of writing).
Realistically, if you’re staying in the oldest part of the city, you won’t have much use for buses. However, if you want to visit some of the museums up near the main university campus then buses 1, 6 and 20 will all save you a lot of leg work.
Planning a route
The easiest way to plan a journey in Lund is to head to the Skånetrafiken website. There’s no proper English version of the site but you can click ‘translate’ in the top right corner to get an idea of what’s going on. Some details still only appear in Swedish, though.
If you’re travelling with a smartphone and have a Swedish sim (or a decent data plan from your own country), a better option is use the Skånetrafiken app to plan journeys from your nearest stop. Register your phone number by text message and you can also pay for journeys on your phone using a credit card. The English is better on the app, too.
Paying for journeys
The buses in Lund are operated by Skånetrafiken (if that name seems familiar it’s because the same company takes care of the buses and trains in Malmö and other parts of Skåne). As a result, the options for paying for your bus journeys within Lund are much the same as they are across Skåne. At the time of writing, inner-city bus journeys cost 22 SEK.
Best option for single journeys: buy a ticket
The low-tech way to get a ticket for travel on Lund’s buses is to use one of the machines at the train station. Cash and cards are both accepted. Machines not working? Try the Skånetrafiken office at the station (just look for the red sign).
Best option for longer stays: get a pre-paid Jojo card
At the Skånetrafiken office mentioned above, and at branches of 7-Eleven and Pressbyrån in Lund, you can get yourself a Jojo card loaded with credit to use on Skånetrafiken buses and trains around the region. The cheapest option is the 70 SEK Jojo Mini card, which comes loaded with 50 SEK of travel credit – enough for two inner-city journeys. You can load the card with more credit whenever you want.
Best option if you have a smartphone: use the app
This option should only really be considered if you have some kind of mobile internet connection and a decent battery life, as you’ll need to show the app to anyone who wants to check your ticket. Download the Skånetrafiken app, register your mobile number and then buy tickets for individual journeys using your credit card. The ticket will be stored on your phone but you need to activate it before getting on the bus for it to be valid. If you’re travelling to or from Malmö, or even heading to Denmark, you buy tickets using the same app.
Going to Denmark? Get a regional pass
If you’re trying to cram in a lot of sightseeing on both sides of the border, consider buying the Öresund Rundt pass. This costs 249 SEK and gives you access to public transport on both sides of the strait, including a one-way journey over the Öresund Bridge and a ferry journey between Helsingborg and Helsingør in Denmark.
How does this relate to Lund? Well, you’ll also have access to all of Skånetrafiken’s buses within the city. You can buy the pass at loads of places around the region, including Copenhagen Airport and the Skånetrafiken desks at the train stations in Malmö and Lund. You cannot buy the Öresund Rundt pass online.
By bike
For stress-free exploration of Lund there’s no better option than hiring a bike. The city’s cycle-hire scheme – called Lundahoj – is unusual for Sweden in that it’s open 24 hours a day, all year round. The bikes are good for short hops around the city but are a little too heavy for a lot of uphill pedalling, so try to stick to the centre if you can.
The easiest option is to get yourself a short-term pass (25 SEK) which lets you borrow a bike as many times as you want for a total of three days. Just go up to one of the terminals and follow the on-screen instructions to get started – you’ll need to pay with a card and choose a pin number, which you can then use to borrow a bike from any station around town.
If you want to avoid extra charges, make sure you always return the bike to a Lundahoj station within 30 minutes. A deposit of 140 SEK will be blocked against your card when you sign up, just in case you’re late back and they need to charge you extra.
The best way to find a bike station near you is to download the free AllBikesNow app for Android or iPhone. There are stations all over the eastern part of Lund, including the university area, but there aren’t any western side of the train tracks so be careful when cycling out that way – it’s easy to pedal for 20 minutes and then realise there’s nowhere to leave the bike.
For longer journeys and anything that involves a bit of uphill cycling, it’s worth hiring a more agile bike. Fridhemscykel, out near the university, has wheels for hire; a standard bike costs 150 SEK/day for the first day and 100 SEK thereafter.
Fridhemscykel
Bredgatan 32
Lund
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 11am–2pm
+46 461 301 02
fridhemscykel.se
Last updated: June 2015