Automobility in flux: More women and older drivers at the wheel

Having barely registered an increase at the beginning of the new millennium, during the economic upturn after 2009, there was significant growth in the mileage by registered motor vehicles in Germany, both in the case of utility vehicles and automobiles. Overall, in 2011, automobiles covered a higher mileage than ever before. Despite more efficient engines, this resulted in fuel consumption stagnating in recent years, although the long-term trend is one of decline. With an 85-percent share of total mileage, automobiles dominate our roads. This transport demand pattern is predominantly created by the needs of private households and it is currently in a state of flux when it comes to gender and age balance. Women's growing presence in education and on the labor market has, in turn, resulted in an increase in their car ownership and mileage. At the same time, men and women are maintaining a more mobile lifestyle by retaining their cars into older age. However, more limited car use has been observed, particularly among young people who, more frequently than previously, seem to be opting for the most suitable form of transport rather than traveling exclusively in their own vehicles

Building Up Demand-Oriented Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles in Germany

Mobility offerings have never been as abundant and varied as the present. While users welcome new and innovative mobility options, this current paradigm shift presents a challenge for authorities that plan, organize, and operate such services. In particular, integrating new mobility services into existing infrastructure systems can generate problems of acceptance, co-operability, and compatibility. This problem is especially relevant for electric vehicles. Limited range and battery capacity of battery electric vehicles make them dependent on charging infrastructure, which in turn hinders their acceptance. In light of the German government’s goal of one million electric vehicles by 2020, establishing a demand-oriented charging infrastructure is of crucial importance. However, numerous questions remain unanswered regarding the quantity, type, and location of electric vehicle charging stations in Germany. This article presents the findings of the project “LADEN2020: Concept to build up a demand-oriented charging infrastructure in Germany between today and 2020.” The research project develops a systematically comprehensible and consistent strategy for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Germany. The paper presents the methodological framework to estimate the charging demand for daily and long-distance travel, which is unique and innovative as similar comprehensive and consistent analytical tools do not exist to date

Workshop Synthesis: Behavioral changes in travel – challenges and implications for their identification and measurement

Transportation policy measures aim to motivate people to change their travel behavior (e.g. to use sustainable modes of transportation instead of a car). Furthermore, life events (e.g. birth of a child, retirement) often result in changes in travel behavior. On the other hand, structural processes (e.g. the exchange of differently car-socialized cohorts) might result in changes in travel volumes as well, but the underlying reasons for this cannot be regarded as behavioral changes. A major goal in the workshop was to find a comprehensive definition of behavioral change. Based on this definition, methodological approaches have been discussed and distinguished from each other and methods for the identification and measurement of behavioral changes by use of different methodical approaches have been revealed

How Late Reporters Effect Data Quality in Longitudinal Surveys – Experiences From the German Mobility Panel

Survey design always has a significant influence on the outcomes. Therefore, this paper investigates how follow-up campaigns affect survey outcomes and response rates in longitudinal surveys. Furthermore, it is assessed how late reports in the fall affect survey outcomes. The analyses are based on the unique data of the German Mobility Panel. Overall, this paper paints a broad picture of the methodological aspects and overlapping effects that should be considered before starting the fieldwork of longitudinal surveys. The results indicate that people who are reminded to participate positively influence the survey outcomes - even when the report is belated

Exploring the role of individuals’ attitudes in the use of on-demand mobility services for commuting – A case study in eight Chinese cities

The use of on-demand mobility (ODM) services has increased in Chinese cities and is used by people for various purposes, such as leisure activities or commuting. The aim of this study is to identify and analyze factors that play a role in the use of ODM services for commuting of high-income earners in China. In previous studies, this group of people was identified as extremely relevant for ODM use as they can afford the services in principle. A specific focus of this study is on the influence of travel mode attitudes as well as sociodemographic characteristics. The data set used in this study was collected with the innovative travel skeleton approach based on information given by high-income individuals. The survey took place in eight different Chinese cities with 5,192 respondents. They have provided insights on their everyday travel (e.g., commuting) and attitudes towards car and public transit. To investigate the role of psychological factors behind the use frequency of ODM services, we applied a factor analysis to identify latent factors from psychological item sets used. Next, we integrated them into an ordered hybrid choice model (OHCM). The results show that people’s perceived public transit experience increase the probability to use ODM more often for commuting. We suggest a strong interrelation between public transit and such services, even among people with high incomes

Workshop Synthesis: How to Collect and Use Longitudinal Data?

This paper is based on the presentations, papers and discussions of workshop “Longitudinal data” at the ISCTSC conference in Porto Novo in March 2022. The presentations and discussions are primarily based on three different panel surveys that represent different approaches and designations. All these surveys have to struggle with typical challenges. The paper discusses the analytical characteristics and the designation of longitudinal surveys, addresses the problems and challenges of longitudinal surveys and will sum up the discussed strategies, in which a long-term continuity of such surveys can be secured

Balancing Innovation and Continuity – Experiences with Survey Design Adaptations of the German Mobility Panel

The German Mobility Panel is one of the longest-lasting studies with a basically unchanged design in mobility behaviour research world-wide. As a result one central asset of this study is the provision of time series data. Nevertheless in repeated surveys, design changes are sometimes inevitable due to new research questions or external developments. Since 1994 the German Mobility Panel has seen only minor design adaptations. After nearly 20 years with a more or less unchanged design, declining participation rates by certain person groups and new survey methods have required fundamental changes in the survey design. This paper describes design changes to the German Mobility Panel in 2013 and analyses the first outcomes generated by the methodological changes

How the COVID-19 pandemic changes daily commuting routines – Insights from the German Mobility Panel

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on everyday travel and, by extension, everyday commuting. During the pandemic, some people were able to work from home while others continued commuting. This study examines how commuting behavior changed between 2019 and 2020. In this study, we analyze panel data of the German Mobility Panel, a national household travel survey. We paint a broad picture of the characteristics and behavior of those who commuted during the pandemic. The analyses focus on the intra- and interpersonal differences and are presented in a mostly descriptive way. The results show that people with low income and a low level of education are primarily those who cannot work from home and do not have flexible working hours. The results further show that especially public transport has lost importance in daily commuting. However, those who commuted in 2019 and 2020 did not significantly change their commuting behavior regarding commuting time and commuting mode