Despite major investment, more than two out of three people continue to prefer using a car to commute to work. It’s a figure that becomes more pronounced as soon as you move away from the capital. Photo: Maison Moderne

Despite major investment, more than two out of three people continue to prefer using a car to commute to work. It’s a figure that becomes more pronounced as soon as you move away from the capital. Photo: Maison Moderne

According to a study entitled “Car dependency persists for home-to-work journeys” and presented at an economic seminar, more than two out of three people continue to travel to work by car, researchers from Statec, the University of Luxembourg and Liser have concluded.

Whilst everyone would like to get to work on foot, by bus or tram, or even by train, more than two out of three people continue to use a car, conclude researchers from Statec, the University of Luxembourg and Liser in a study entitled “Car dependency persists for home-to-work journeys” and presented at an economic seminar.

The study, which compares data from 2011 and 2021, finds no increase in the use of public transport but a slight improvement in walking and cycling (up from 8.4% in 2011 to 12.7% in 2021). As a corollary to this change, when looking at the multimodal mix, the winning combo is made up of taking the bus and walking.

The researchers note that car use has fallen mainly in the capital (-17 percentage points), which is comparable to Paris according to the 2022 Mobility Atlas, and to a lesser extent around Luxembourg City (-5 to -15 percentage points). They also found an increase in car use in communes in the northern part of the country and near the borders. The modal shift is more difficult modal for reasons of time and flexibility, a change in the polarisation of workplaces and a greater distance from new homes.

Seven out of ten (70%) of working people work less than 20 kilometres from home. But starting from 10 kilometres and upwards, more than four out of five people use the car, which is considered to be faster. For any given location, the users of public transport and soft mobility are predominantly single people and smaller households, those who are born abroad, those living in the capital or medium-sized towns, people with a high level of education in urban centres, and those working in finance or the scientific field.

On the other hand, car users tend to be men or couples with or without children, people born in Luxembourg, and residents working in public administration or commerce.

The report ends with a question: if improving infrastructure or facilities in favour of sustainable transport does not necessarily mean improving sustainable mobility (debated performance, unpredictable effects...), should we imagine a rethink of public policies?

This article was originally published in .

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