Traffic surveys on the Vienna city limits show that public transport usage increased significantly more than individual motorized transport
Vienna/St. Pölten/Eisenstadt (OTS) – In order to obtain a comprehensive overall picture of the volume of passenger traffic on the Vienna city limits, the states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland are conducting “cordon surveys” as part of a long-term series. The surveys provide information about traffic in the entire region and represent an important basis for transport planning by the states and the federal government.
The “Vienna Cordon Survey 2020+” was carried out in 2021 and 2022. The 2021 and, to a lesser extent, 2022 surveys still showed influences from the Covid19 pandemic, in particular through increased home office use and a lower willingness to use public transport – which has now largely been overcome. Nevertheless, trends can be seen.
The main results from the final report for the 2022 survey
- Public transport usage is increasing faster than Car traffic
Public transport transported 28.5% more people in the city limits in 2022 than in 2010, while car traffic only grew by around 5%. - Traffic is growing less than the population
The total amount of traffic at the city limits, measured in people, increased by 9.8% from 2010 to 2022. Given the population growth in Vienna by 14.3% and the Vienna city region by 11.1%, a decoupling of population growth from the increase in traffic can be observed. - During the morning peak, 29% of people traveling to Vienna use public transport
On an average working day, 617,000 people cross the city limits into the city. Of these, 23% are in public transport and 77% in private motorized transport. If you look at the morning peak with classic commuter traffic between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the ratio improves: 29% use public transport. - Transit share in motor vehicle traffic is almost a quarter
Around 23% of the cars that cross the city limits from outside Vienna pass through Vienna.
Vienna’s planning director Thomas Madreiter: “Important data base for sustainable mobility in the Vienna area”
“In Vienna, with parking space management, a compact settlement structure, public transport expansion and the 365 euro annual ticket, we have the best conditions for climate-friendly mobility. This is also shown by the modal split data: In Vienna, almost three quarters of the journeys are made in an environmental network, only 26% use a car. The cordon survey provides important data base in order to create the framework conditions for sustainable mobility in the Vienna area together with partners in the region,” emphasizes Vienna’s planning director Thomas Madreiter.
In any case, it is encouraging that there is a decoupling of traffic volumes from population growth and that the trend is towards the use of public transport. Now it’s about further investments in the expansion of environmentally friendly transport infrastructure in the region, but also suitable steering measures at the federal level. This is the only way to create the appropriate foundations for a climate-friendly modal split in traffic that crosses city limits, says Madreiter.
Lower Austria’s Head of the Spatial Planning, Environment and Transport Group, General Transport Affairs Department, Werner Pracherstorfer:
“The cordon survey between the city limits of Lower Austria and Vienna makes a significant contribution to assessing the traffic situation in the eastern region. In particular, the comparison of the shares of public transport and private motorized transport in a region’s passenger traffic volume provides essential input for assessing the necessity of planned infrastructure and supply-side measures. The results of the cordon survey subsequently provide suitable reference values for evaluating the effects of these planning measures.
Based on the Lower Austrian mobility concept and the measures implemented from it in the five-year Lower Austrian mobility packages, there is an ongoing expansion of the offering and infrastructure for improved accessibility in local public transport in Lower Austria. In recent years, local rail passenger transport has implemented a daily hourly service from 5 a.m. to at least 11 p.m. as well as a half-hour service during rush hour for commuters. This offer is constantly being improved through further infrastructure expansion as part of the Lower Austrian railway offensive. The start of the rollout of the integrated regional bus tender will create a new quality in regional bus transport and flexible public transport in rural areas.
If you look at the specific results of the current cordon survey in the time series, it can be seen that the COVID-19 pandemic brought about an expected break in the trend with regard to the development of public transport share values over the last decade. We are currently in a dynamic catch-up phase in rail transport, although an analysis of long-distance transport as well as local and regional transport over the entire day shows that the relative increase in passengers in long-distance transport still outweighs that in the commuter-oriented time segment in the morning hours. The state of Lower Austria is therefore analyzing and evaluating the detailed results of the cordon survey on regional traffic volume along the main rail transport axes in an ongoing project.”
Peter Zinggl, overall transport coordinator for the state of Burgenland: “It is pleasing that the population increase is reflected in a significantly higher share of public transport.”
“In order to be an attractive place to live, we need high-quality public transport. Traveling to work by bus or train is significantly cheaper and more comfortable than by car. The state of Burgenland has developed ambitious foundations with the new overall transport strategy and has entered the new age of mobility in September 2023: mobility is now also possible without a car. Households in Burgenland can save a lot of money and can do without a second or third car. This is achieved by defining main axes, switching to a regular timetable and connecting the main axes via regular nodes and a comprehensive micro-public transport system.
What do we learn from the cordon survey: In order to enable commuters to switch to public transport, there must be an offer for the last mile. It must be possible to access the public transport system close to home. In addition, sufficient P&R capacities are required. The most important commuter destination for Burgenland is Vienna. Through the cordon survey, we find out how commuter traffic on the various city entrances is distributed between cars and public transport and how this distribution changes over the years. It is encouraging that the population increase in our rapidly growing metropolitan region is reflected in a significantly higher share of public transport and does not lead to a linear increase in car use. This saves commuters a lot of money and is essential for achieving climate goals.”
About the “Vienna Cordon Survey 2020+”
In 2020, the Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR) commissioned a new survey of the volume of passenger traffic on the city limits on behalf of the states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.
The first results are available with data as of 2021, but due to the pandemic they did not provide any long-term valid statements. With a view to a database that is normalized for the future, the investigations were continued and another data point was collected on behalf of Vienna and Lower Austria as of October 2022 in order to obtain a more meaningful final result. This is now available.
Since 2021, the study, which refers to an average working day in October 2022, has also been carried out using a mobile phone data analysis model, which is supplemented by existing traffic data and traffic surveys carried out during the project. This methodology brings with it significant cost savings.
The contractors for the cordon survey Vienna 2020+ were the engineering office for transport and transport economics DI Rittler Christian and the Institute for Road and Transport Engineering at the TU-Graz. They also prepared the final report for the Vienna Cordon Survey 2022 based on the data collected in 2022.
You can download the study “Vienna Cordon Survey 2020+” and the supplementary final report “Vienna Cordon Survey 2022” at www.VOR.at download.
Questions & Contact:
Country of Vienna
Anita Voraberger, Head of Communications, Office of Planning City Councilor Ulli Sima, +43 1 4000 81353, anita.voraberger@wien.gv.at
State of Lower Austria
Alexander Murlasits, Head of Press and Public Relations, LHStv Office. Udo Landbauer, +43 676 812 13742, alexander.murlasits@noel.gv.at
State of Burgenland
Peter Slawik, Office of the Burgenland State Government, Office of Provincial Councilor Heinrich Dorner, press spokesman, +43 57 600 2068, peter.slawik@bgld.gv.at
Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR)
Georg Huemer, press spokesman, +43 1 95555 1512, georg.huemer@VOR.at