Home office, fewer contacts, fear of infection: the corona pandemic has a massive impact on local transport. There are significantly fewer passengers on the way, as a current study from Frankfurt shows. Driving is therefore becoming more popular again.
There has not been a crush on buses and trains in Frankfurt for a long time. Because the corona pandemic has significantly changed the mobility of commuters and other passengers, as a current study by Frankfurt local transport company traffiQ now confirmed with figures.
More than half (54 percent) of the 1,000 or so respondents last October stated that they take buses and trains less often. “A significant restriction in mobility – also through home office – and the fear of infection lead to the number of journeys being made, particularly in local transport, falling sharply,” said Andreas Krämer, the author of the study.
Better by car than S-Bahn
Corona is the predominant reason not to use public transport, said Krämer. “62 percent of those surveyed who had considered using buses and trains, but ultimately decided against it, cite the pandemic as the reason for not using them.” The corona crisis clearly leads to aspects such as travel options, price or reliability, which are usually cited as reasons against using local public transport.
When comparing use before and during the pandemic, there are clear winners and losers: While S-Bahn and U-Bahn lost a total of 16 percentage points as the main means of transport, according to statistics, the use of cars increased by 10 percentage points, cycling by 4 and the Share of those who mainly walked by 5 percentage points.
While the number of trips “only” declined by 22 percent for those who continue their job as before, it was 46 percent for people working from home or on short-time work.
Break in with single tickets
traffiQ managing director Tom Reinhold is not surprised by the result. “As expected, the study shows a marked decrease in public transport use,” he said. “However, we see good chances of being able to win back customers by increasing the attractiveness of trains and buses, convincing hygiene concepts and consistent mask control.”
According to the study, buyers of single tickets in Frankfurt and season ticket users from the surrounding area travel less bus and train. “The decline in public transport journeys in Frankfurt to around 68 percent of the previous year can be largely attributed to these two user groups, who account for around two thirds of the journeys that have been lost,” explains Reinhold.
Home office could play a bigger role
Regarding the outlook for the time after Corona, said Reinhold, it can be assumed that not all changes in mobility behavior will be reversed: Many respondents expected that work in the home office will also play a stronger role in the future and make trips to work superfluous.
The traffiQ managing director is nevertheless optimistic: In the long term, he sees good chances “that the successful trend of environmentally friendly local public transport will continue”.
hr-iNFO, February 23, 2021, 1:00 p.m.
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