A traffic jam in Hamburg, Germany on 20 September 2020
The Coronavirus pandemic is causing people to shun public transport in favor of private cars in Germany, according to a report from the German Aerospace Center.
In a survey conducted by the center’s Institute for Transport Research in June and July, half of respondents said they are using public transport less often or much less often. They identified fears of the health risk as the reason, and those fears haven’t subsided since the previous time the survey was taken in April.
Though some people have moved from public transport to clean individual transport such as bicycles, private cars have emerged as the “clear winner” of the shift, according to the report. By July, traffic in Germany had gone back to pre-crisis levels, according to an analysis of mobile network data.
“It is becoming apparent that things will not simply go back to the way they were,” says institute head Barbara Lenz. “Rather, it is a question of what the ‘new normal’ will look like in terms of mobility. Behaviours that were adopted for the first time during this unprecedented situation have become ingrained and are having an influence on new routines.”
Lenz says that while new work-from-home arrangements have lessened the need to commute to work, those journeys that people are making are more likely now to be done by private car if one is available. “Private vehicles have emerged as the clear winner during the crisis, while public transport has lost out. Sustainable mobility concepts such as car sharing have also weakened. We are now further from a mobility transition than ever, as strong public transport is necessary for its success. This should be the clear focus in future.”
Public transport ridership in Germany dropped to 20% of capacity during the lockdown in march and April, but has since risen to 60—70%, according to the Association of German Transport Companies.
The survey found that women had greater misgivings about riding public transport than men, while young people and city dwellers also felt especially uneasy. “This is a worrying development. After all, these are precisely the groups that use local public transport frequently, in their day-to-day lives. Local public transport really is one of the biggest losers in this crisis,” Lenz says.
The previous survey in April found that a third of people from households without a car missed having their own vehicle. This figure has dropped to a fifth in the latest survey in June and July.
An increase in private car ownership could make it hard for Germany to reach its emissions reduction commitments under the country’s Energiewende policy.
