Chances of Shared-Mobility-Concepts in small towns

Authors

C. Kolb, R. Hartig, A. Knauer, R. Härtel, M. Hochstein, C. Fröhlich - Hochschule Mittweida

Summary

Secure, social and affordable mobility that is aligned with climate protection goals in Germany, is (according to scientific consensus) based on the reduction of individual traffic and the electrification of means of transport, all of which are made accessible to a large community of users. However, business models such as shared mobility are mainly applied in big cities and metropolitan areas. The question arises: can shared mobility concepts work in provincial areas, too? Small towns fill a hybrid position in the dichotomy of urban and rural areas. They pool surrounding rural areas and function as suburban areas for urban localities. Decades of promoted affinity to (private) vehicles in sub- and non-urban areas can be explained infrastructurally with polycentric settlement structure and a predominance of small and medium-sized towns and municipalities. In this contribution the results of the survey among citizens of a small town in middle Saxony, Germany, will be presented. Special attention was paid to results of the corona pandemic, and its possibly permanent impact on mobility behavior. Mobility behavior and acceptance of mobility sharing is analyzed considering the modified mobility conditions. In order to gain a holistic view data were collected on both competences and eligibility of the survey participants for specific means of transport, reasoning acceptance and barriers to sharing mobility.