Switzerland: Leisure Was the Most Important Mobility Purpose in 2021
According to a press release by the Federal Council, a total of 30 kilometres were travelled domestically per person a day – 6.8 kilometres fewer than recorded in a survey back in 2015. The main reason for this decrease is reportedly the COVID-19 pandemic, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“These are some of the findings of the “Mobility and Transport Microcensus”, Switzerland’s most important nationwide survey on the population’s mobility behaviour, carried out by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE),” the authority reveals.
The data by the Federal Statistical Office also shows that more employers in Switzerland were commuters in 2021 – a total of 3.5 million people, with 71 per cent of those working outside the commune that they live in. These rates are 58 per cent below 1990 levels, indicating that much larger commuter flows were recorded through the Swiss Mittelland and alpine valleys compared to a few decades ago.
In 2021, 53 per cent of commuters used the car as the main transport type while 27 per cent relied on public transport. In addition, 18 per cent travelled either by bike or foot. Commuters covered an average of 14 kilometres one-way to work, lasting on average of 29 minutes.
These rates changed throughout the decades as in 1990, 41.6 per cent of commuters were working within the commune of residence, followed by 46.6 per cent of those that had to travel to another commune for work and 11.9 per cent worked between different cantons.
These rates shifted to 36.3 per cent for those working in the same canton they lived in, to further decrease to 29.3 per cent in 2021. In addition, 46.6 per cent of those travelling between communes but lived in another canton, which increased to 51.6 per cent in 2021 while those that travelled between different cantons represented 19.2 per cent of the total in 2021, up from 11.8 per cent recorded in 1990.
Furthermore, the share of inbound commuters representing commuter residents in the canton is the highest among two places in Switzerland; Basel-Stadt (43.9 per cent) and Zug (35.6 per cent) while those with the lowest rates being Fribourg (20.2 per cent), Basel-Landschaft (17.7 per cent), Aargau (16.6 per cent), and Thurgau (17.2 per cent).
“In addition to commuters travelling to work, in Switzerland in 2021 there were about 0.7 million commuters aged 15 or over travelling to their place of study or training (pupils, apprentices and students),” the Federal Council explains.
On average, commuters for study and training purposes covered 20 kilometres to reach their place of study and usually used public transportation. Rail and public road transport represented 65 per cent of all means of transport for this group in 2021.
