This study aims to make the data sets of travel behaviour surveys from the USA and Austria comparable, investigate the most important indicators of mobility of a single working day, draw conclusions and derive considerations for the future development of mobility in Austria and Europe. The Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey USA for 1995 was compared with the Mobility Survey of Austrian Households for the same year. The proportion of respondents over 50 years of age was considerably higher in Austria. Employment rate in the USA was higher than in Austria. The population density of Austria was about 5-fold higher than in the USA but less of its population lived in urban areas. The share of transport in the household budget was one third higher in Austria than in the USA. Vehicle ownership in the USA was 730 cars per 1000 inhabitants in the USA compared with 446 cars per 1000 inhabitants in Austria. Vehicle ownership has not reached a plateau in either country. The proportion of the population not within 500m of a public transport stop was 67% in the USA and 26% in Austria. The number of trips per working day per person was 3.70 in Austria and 4.94 in the USA. Trip length per person on working days in Austria was 28km, compared with 61km in the USA. Daily trip duration was 70-71 minutes per day in the two countries. Non-motorised transport was 32% of trips in Austria and 7% in the USA. Public transport was 17% of trips in Austria and 4% in the USA. The design of settlements in the USA disadvantages public transport and encouraged the use of private cars. The proportion of passengers in cars is higher in the USA as children do not have the choice of other modes as in Austria. It is considered that as the population of Austria grows older, there will be an increase in car use. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.
Abstract