The Swiss traveled an average of 30 kilometers per day in 2021. This is 6.8 kilometers less than during the previous mobility and transport microcensus in 2015. Main cause of the decline: the Covid-19 pandemic.
Travel lasted an average of 80 minutes each day, including walking, according to the survey presented Thursday by the Federal Office of Statistics (OFS) and that of Territorial Development (ARE). In 2015, this duration was 90 minutes.
The pandemic has strongly influenced people’s travel behavior, study officials find. In 2021, several measures once morest the spread of the virus were in force. The figures should therefore be taken with a grain of salt.
The drop in distances traveled affects almost all means of transport, but not in the same order of magnitude. The distances traveled by train have decreased by 35%, while the decrease is 13% for the car.
Two-thirds the distance by car
The population traveled more than two thirds of the distances traveled in Switzerland by car (20.8 km per day). Cars had fewer occupants on average in 2021, at 1.53 people, compared to 1.56 in 2015. The rate is even lower on the way to work, with 1.09 people on board.
Motorized two-wheelers traveled 30% less, compared to 11% less for bicycles. The exception: e-bike journeys have exploded, with distances traveled nearly tripling. Moreover, 20% of households own at least one, nine times more than in 2010.
Leisure ahead
Despite the pandemic, leisure remained the main reason for travel, with 43% of the kilometers traveled. Compared to 2015, daily distances have decreased for all travel purposes, but they have remained stable for purchases.
The distance traveled also depends on age. Among adults, the younger you are, the more you move. The 18-24 year olds traveled 40 kilometers per day, compared to just under 37 kilometers for the 25-44 year olds, and nearly 33 kilometers for the 45-64 year olds.
As for the political measures to be taken, in the eyes of the population, priority must be given to optimizing public transport and reducing the environmental impact of traffic. This takes precedence over the improvement of cycle, road or pedestrian facilities. Respondents favor traffic flow measures and financial incentives for the purchase of low-emission vehicles.
The microcensus takes place every five years and had been postponed for a year due to the 2020 lockdown. The representative survey was carried out by telephone among 55,000 people.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats
