Researchers from the Wuppertal Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, TU Berlin and Europa-Universität Flensburg have investigated what the most important drivers of private car ownership in Germany are – and which policy measures may promote the switch from private cars to more environmentally friendly means of transport. To this end, the researchers conducted a Germany-wide survey on mobility habits and preferences with around 3,500 participants. Based on this, they analysed a range of factors influencing car ownership, including socio-demographic and infrastructural factors, respondents' reactions to political measures and their motives for car ownership.
The researchers present the results of their analysis in the paper "Drivers of car driving: lessons on infrastructure, peer-group, habits and socio-demographics from a survey on car ownership and usage in Germany". They come to three key conclusions:
"To reduce car ownership in Germany, we need a policy mix that combines pull and push measures," explains Johannes Thema, Senior Researcher in the Energy Policy Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute and lead author of the study, adding: "For example, it is important to provide significantly more funding for public transport and less for the road, especially in rural areas. Possible push measures could be higher costs for car tenancy, fuel, roads and parking, or the conversion of road and parking areas into footpaths and cycle paths. Restricting car access to city centres also has the potential to support the reduction of car use."
The paper is published open access and can be downloaded free of charge via the link below.
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