The importance of different means of transport changes depending on the context in which people are travelling. This is shown by a recent survey by the ADAC, which looks at mobility habits in everyday life, leisure and holidays. The car is the means of transport that is used the most across all areas, even if its importance decreases by 24 percent on holiday. Unsurprisingly, the plane is highly relevant for holiday mobility, but the train is also experiencing an increase and is used 14 percent more often on holiday than in everyday life.
The survey also shows that many people are much more willing to change their mobility behaviour in everyday life than on holiday. Nevertheless, even on holiday, the majority are willing to adapt their mobility behaviour in some way - most likely by travelling more by train. Against the backdrop of this lower willingness to change when on holiday, the mobility turnaround is becoming increasingly important. This not only applies to the car, but also to the airplane, which is hugely relevant for holiday mobility.
Relevant: Reliability and availability
It is also clear that people make their mobility decisions predominantly based on "hard" factors that are responsible for ensuring that the journey goes smoothly. Reliability, availability, independence and flexibility are particularly important to them. Emotional factors such as habit or enjoyment are clearly secondary. This underlines the fact that substantial improvements on the supply side would be necessary to promote a change of mode of transport - for example to rail, where it can be an alternative to cars and airplanes.
When asked which measure is mainly necessary to achieve the climate targets in the transport sector, 45 percent of respondents opted for a change of drive, i.e. switching to e-mobility or alternative fuels. In contrast, 31 percent consider switching to lower-CO2 modes of transport to be the most important lever. Young adults and people from large cities in particular rate the change of driving system and the switch to low-CO2 modes of transport as almost equally relevant.
When asked who is responsible for setting the course for climate and environmentally friendly mobility, most respondents cite the state. In second place - but at a considerable distance - is civic responsibility for one's own behaviour, although this is much more pronounced among older respondents than among young adults. The latter see a higher level of responsibility on the entrepreneurial side.
No renunciation despite high costs
The survey results also show that making mobility more expensive as a means of promoting more climate-friendly holiday mobility is unlikely to be successful. The survey does show that the cost issue is very relevant for holiday mobility. People are also even less willing to shoulder higher costs on holiday than in everyday life. At the same time, however, only very few people stated that financial pressure would help them to be more climate-friendly when travelling or to generally forego mobility on holiday. Higher costs would therefore be perceived as painful, but in case of doubt would not encourage a change in behaviour.
On the presentation of the survey in Berlin, ADAC Tourism President Karl-Heinz Jungbeck concludes: "When it comes to the question of whether I should get rid of my car and switch to public transport or cycling permanently in everyday life, my holiday and leisure habits also play a role. When we consider how we can make mobility climate-neutral, we must therefore also look at holidays." - The survey results in detail can be found here. / kn