As of: April 9, 2024, 8:17 a.m
By: Markus Hofstetter
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A study by the University of St. Gallen examined how drivers can be persuaded to use alternative mobility options. Apparently it's routine that gets in the way.
St. Gallen - Despite all the environmental debates, the car is the most popular means of transport for the vast majority of Germans. In a study by the car insurer HUK Coburg in May 2023, 72 percent of those surveyed stated that the car will best meet their mobility needs in the future. And a study published at the beginning of January by the management consultancy Horváth shows that the majority of people in Germany do not want to do without their own car in the future.
The long-term study “New Mobility Buddies” takes a different approach, for which scientists from the University of St. Gallen followed 20 households in Berlin, Hamburg, Zurich and St. Gallen for four months. The aim was to find out how a change in personal mobility behavior towards lower-emission mobility in everyday life can be achieved.
Mobility study by the University of St. Gallen: Comfort plays an important role
The reactions of household members to a total of 13 different measures that aim to achieve lower-emission mobility than owning a car were examined. These include, among other things, not having your own car, increasing the use of public transport, using shared mobility offers or consciously taking into account the resulting CO₂ emissions and mobility costs as factors influencing mobility behavior. A central question was which of these alternative mobility offers work in everyday life and where there are still deficits.
People are reluctant to do without their own private car, even in the city. © Simon Kremer/dpa
A central finding of the study is that alternative mobility offers are only used if they offer approximately the same level of comfort as privately used cars. But the alternative offer should also be approximately equivalent emotionally. However, emissions and a transparent cost comparison as the sole factors did not have a decisive influence on mobility decisions in the cases examined.
Mobility study by the University of St. Gallen: People rarely go without their first car
The households described that public transport and shared mobility offers are complex and unfamiliar for people with little user experience. According to the study, the use of multimodal apps, i.e. applications that cover different means of transport, could reduce this perceived complexity and promote a basic understanding of multimodal mobility.
One-size-fits-all solutions, on the other hand, would only inadequately meet the different needs of people. Rather, differentiated solutions are needed to make new mobility offerings popular.
It is rarely possible to do without your first car. However, the majority of households surveyed viewed not having a second car as a realistic option. According to the study, easy access to the charging infrastructure and easy operation of the charging stations are particularly important for the use of electric cars.
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Mobility study by the University of St. Gallen: The costs of owning a car are incorrectly estimated
Interestingly, the researchers found that at the start of the study, many households had little overview of their actual costs for private cars and alternative forms of mobility. However, these costs were cited as an important deciding factor for the choice of mode of transport.
After completing the study, a majority of households stated that they consciously accepted additional costs for private cars compared to alternative offers - even if these were described as “well-functioning”. This again shows that comfort plays an important role in mobility.
One conclusion of the study is that mobility behavior will only change fundamentally if existing mobility routines are broken up and attractive alternative offers are developed. In addition, the mobility mix must be adapted to the individual needs of households.