When do employees switch from driving to using public transportation?

Under what conditions are people willing to switch from driving to public transportation to get to work? How can an increase in public transportation ridership be achieved?

Researchers from the joint project “move.mORe – Sustainable Mobility in the Upper Rhine Region,” conducted by the universities of Karlsruhe and Hochschule Offenburg, are currently working to find answers to these questions in the Rastatt Ost industrial park. Since early November 2025 and continuing through March 2026, a real-world laboratory has been operating there as part of the Mittelbaden Mobility Pact to improve conditions for sustainable mobility among employees. Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences is evaluating the project, which is led by the Rastatt District Office. Together, they are implementing the project with Verkehrsgesellschaft Rastatt mbH (VERA GmbH). The results are likely to be of interest to policymakers, planners, transit agencies, employers, and many others.

More than 20 employees from three very different companies in the industrial park volunteered to participate as test subjects. In advance, they provided information on, among other things, their places of residence, preferred modes of transportation, and how frequently they use them. Throughout the project, which runs through the end of February 2026, they will keep travel logs for specified dates. For the four-month “real-world lab” period, they each received a Deutschlandticket Job, unless they already had one. Many of the participants also received a personalized schedule for their commute.

At the same time, Verkehrsgesellschaft Rastatt mbH (VERA) implemented temporary measures in the study area: It built a new bus stop, introduced additional trips aligned with the working hours of the participating companies, and extended existing routes.

An initial interim assessment shows that the modified bus routes and the new bus stop are being used not only by the study participants but also by others working in the industrial park. An assessment is currently underway to determine whether the expanded public transit services can be maintained permanently even after the real-world lab concludes and to what extent they can continue to be adapted to the needs and shift schedules of employees.

At the same time, however, the travel logs and satisfaction surveys also highlight challenges, such as poorly coordinated schedules at transfer points, late trains, and a lack of information for passengers. In addition to the quality of public transit itself, factors such as lighting and the condition of sidewalks are also cited as important considerations in mobility decisions.

Despite the reports of shortcomings, however, changes in mode of transportation are already becoming apparent: Compared to the start of the project, public transit use has increased significantly, and car use has dropped to just under half in some weeks.

“We will now continue to monitor developments through the end of February and hope that the trend continues. Ultimately, we want to improve conditions for employees in the industrial park and identify strategies that can also be applied to other industrial parks,” says Verena Wagner, network manager for the move.mORe subproject “Mobility Management.”