Pendellabor

28.11.2023 - Commuter traffic in Germany is increasing and commuting distances are getting longer. This not only leads to environmental pollution. Current commuting activities also have a negative impact on the everyday lives of those affected. How can commuting to work be made more environmentally and socially compatible? The "PendelLabor" research team, led by ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research, has investigated this using a real-life experiment. A brochure with extensive recommendations for local authorities, mobility service providers, employers and commuters summarizes the key findings of the research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Take the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region as an example: here alone, around two million people commute within and across municipal boundaries - predominantly by car. This has consequences for the environment and impacts on the health and quality of life of people - both those who commute and those who live in the towns and cities they commute to and from. In the BMBF research project "PendelLabor", led by ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research, scientists worked together with practitioners to find more sustainable alternatives to common commuting routines and developed a new perspective on commuting. "We wanted to know what results we would get if we broadened our perspective on commuting mobility," says project manager Luca Nitschke. "That's why we not only took a closer look at commuters' individual routes to work and decisions, but also asked what scope there is for more sustainable everyday practices. And not just for the commuters themselves, but also for local authorities, mobility service providers and employers."

"If you want to change commuting sustainably, you have to think about the rest of everyday life"

The research results, which are based among other things on a real-life experiment in the Rhine-Main region, show: "Sustainable commuting is not a matter that commuters can solve individually, because the decisions on whether to commute by car or public transport, for example, are linked to many aspects that are often beyond the control of the commuters themselves," says ISOE mobility expert Nitschke. Through case studies and interviews, the PendelLabor research project has shown very clearly that commuting is always part of a complex everyday life and that external framework conditions must be designed in such a way that commutes can be better integrated into the daily routine. According to Frank Othengrafen, project partner at TU Dortmund University, this starts with the designation of new residential areas: "In order to make commuting mobility sustainable, settlement and spatial planning must enable short distances between home and work as well as childcare facilities and amenities or leisure facilities. If you want to change commuting sustainably, you have to think about the rest of everyday life and change processes."

Key messages for local and regional stakeholders

The key messages identified by the research team and summarized in the brochure "Making commuter mobility more sustainable. Recommendations for local and regional stakeholders", are primarily aimed at providing stakeholders with a package of sensible measures that can be implemented immediately. "In fact, the project clearly shows that there are many ways to change the direction of commuter mobility as quickly as possible and thus promote the mobility transition, even beyond the often lengthy expansion of paths, roads and railways," says project manager Nitschke. In addition to infrastructure, the ability to use alternative means of transport is also important, as is the consideration of emotional aspects: Commuters who switch from car to bus and train are helped, for example, by work and rest areas in the vehicles, reliable Wi-Fi and more secure bicycle parking spaces. Well-organized mobility stations with multi-optional transport options have also proven to be useful for improving commuting options. Optimized company Mobility Management is also helpful, such as the "Besser zur Arbeit" (www.besserzurarbeit.de) programme, which supports employers in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region. In addition, the creation of flexible work locations and times is also an option to make everyday life easier for commuters. "The key to the effectiveness of the bundles of measures is to combine them in such a way that all aspects of commuting are addressed and tailor-made solutions for commuters are created," says Dr. André Bruns, professor in the Mobility Management degree program in the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences (HSRM) and project partner at HSRM. "The requirement for this is that the various players, from local authorities and transport and mobility service providers to business promoters and employers, are open to cooperation and know how they can take responsibility for sustainable solutions."

Creating opportunities: Experimental spaces make it possible to start the transition

The core messages of the project brochure include suggestions on how local and regional players can cooperate well with each other, develop measures and exploit synergies. The brochure shows how municipalities and employers can create experimental spaces for commuting alternatives and thus facilitate the transition to sustainable commuting practices. In cooperation with the district of Groß-Gerau and the Hochtaunus district, the research project provided low-threshold access with a real-world laboratory to try out new commuting practices and develop new commuting routines without obligation. In the "PendelLabor", 40 people tried to change their commuting practices over a period of eight months. Three out of four participants made a long-term switch, for example from a car with a combustion engine to an e-car, an e-bike or public transport.

Role of municipalities and public stakeholders in sustainable commuter mobility

"The real-world laboratory in the research project has given us the opportunity to support commuters in breaking their commuting routines and show them more sustainable alternatives for their individual commute," summarizes Ulrich Krebs, District Administrator of the Hochtaunus district. "The low-threshold and non-binding access to commuting alternatives was very well received by the participants. At the same time, concrete hurdles and obstacles became visible on site, but these were easily overcome through dialog," says Thomas Will, District Administrator of the Groß-Gerau district. Both thank the entire project team for the good cooperation and the opportunity to develop sustainable commuter mobility in the districts on site.
In order to rethink commuter mobility in the long term, the brochure recommends that cities, municipalities and districts carry out simulation games or co-design processes that make the complexity of necessary measures as well as the needs and responsibilities of the various players visible. "The development of sustainable commuter mobility can start from the municipalities if they identify suitable planning instruments and suitable local and regional cooperation partners," project manager Nitschke is certain. This requires an organizational and procedural framework for testing new commuting practices that can be consolidated with partners in the region. Heike Mühlhans, Managing Director of the regional Society for Integrated Transport and Mobility Management (ivm), adds: "As the regional coordination office for company and municipal mobility management, we have been very pleased to support the research project. We will therefore now transfer the successfully tested approaches into a regional and permanent offer."

About the research project

The project "PendelLabor - Wege zu einer nachhaltigen Stadt-Umland-Mobilität am Beispiel der Region Frankfurt Rhein-Main" was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), funding priority Social-Ecological Research in the MobilityFutureLab 2050 funding area. The research and practice partners were ISOE - Institute for Social-Ecological Research (network management), TU Dortmund University (Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning), ivm GmbH - Integriertes Verkehrs- und Mobility Management Region Frankfurt RheinMain, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering) as well as the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMain, the district of Groß-Gerau and the Hochtaunuskreis.

To the PendelLabor brochure with recommendations for local and regional players