Cathérine Hartmann, let’s get straight to the point: Who travels sustainably in Switzerland and who doesn’t? 

Cathérine Hartmann: Although we have a well-developed public transport network and many people travel in an environmentally friendly manner, there is a great need for action in terms of sustainability across society as a whole. 

What does this means in practice? 

Generally speaking, all age groups overestimate their climate-friendly behaviour, which is Sotomo study 2024 confirmed. Particularly high potential for CO₂-According to the study, savings in mobility are made by young adults – especially those with high incomes. People in this group often travel by air, for example. 

Younger, well-educated people in particular need to know better. 

Scientists refer to this phenomenon as the “attitude-behaviour gap”. this simply means that our attitudes and intentions often clash with the way we behave. 

Why is that?

There are all kinds of possible reasons. Convenience is an important aspect, but another key factor is the fact that we’re mentally confined to the here and now. There is also a kind of displacement pattern: If you have a demanding job, you have the feeling that you can treat yourself to a flight. In addition, we often compare ourselves with others: Why shouldn’t I be allowed to fly to Thailand if my neighbour does so twice a year? People look for justification strategies that will get them through life with a clear conscience.

What about the difference between city and country? 

In the countryside, car use generates more CO on average₂ per year per person than in cities. This has to do with the fact that rural areas are still less well served by public transport than cities, of course. Mobility behaviour is very much structurally determined (oriented towards a fixed structure, Ed.) and depends on people’s needs and habits.

How can this kind of behaviour be changed?

Humans are creatures of habit – and establishing new habits takes blood, sweat and tears. 

So what needs to be done? 

Phases in life involving major upheavals provide an ideal starting point for changing your behaviour – such as when you move house, change jobs or have a child. We’re also encouraged to change our habits when we have a positive experience and share it with others.

“Together we are strong” as a motto for a more sustainable world? 

Yes, exactly. The climate movement is an ideal example of what this group effect can achieve. Within a group there’s a sense of social control that tends to make you do what’s expected of you. Self-efficacy in the group strengthens the feeling of actually being able to achieve something. 

“Share more, get more” is Mobility’s slogan. Is that enough as an incentive to bring even more people to car sharing?  

It’s a nice message and very true. But it’s important to get across exactly what the “more” can be: more space in the city, more money in your bank account, more healthy woodlands and fresh air, for example. I feel it’ll be important for car sharing and other sustainable forms of mobility to gain even greater appeal in the future so that we can actually get a sense of what it is we’re getting “more” of.

How can this be achieved? 

The environmental aspect is all well and good, but issues such as convenience and comfort, costs and a sense of community are at least as important motivators for individual users. 

I may be wrong, but is it the case that getting people to change their behaviour is particularly challenging in the area of travel and transportation?

Yes, that’s a really tricky area. Unlike other areas – such as nutrition – it seems to be much more difficult to break habitual behaviour patterns in the long term in this area. At the same time, there are developments that certainly give us courage and give us cause for optimism. 

Which is? 

I’m thinking of future generations who will question a lot of things. Not least due to the fact that environmental issues are now addressed earlier on and with more of an impact at schools. This suggests that a different kind of mobility routine could develop in the years to come, Of course, this requires the necessary political and technical framework conditions. 

The Mobility network covers the entire country. Isn’t that framework enough to motivate even more people to take up car sharing?

Car sharing involves sharing something with others. When it comes to cars in particular, that idea is new and unfamiliar to a lot of people. There are several reasons for this: Firstly, the car is seen as a status symbol; secondly, for many people, the car is a kind of “home” on four wheels – and this should not be underestimated. 

How do you mean?

Whether it’s a seat, a rear-view mirror or a music system, we set up the car exactly as it suits us. When we hire a Mobility car, it’s always a little as if someone has rearranged our seat or fiddled around with the music system. That’s why people don’t like lending their car to someone else. There might be more of a sense of appreciation if we could give car-sharing vehicles a personalised touch. 

How would that work?

I’m an environmental psychologist, not a car or software designer. However, technological progress is already making a certain degree of personalisation possible today. This ought to be more widespread when there are even more smart cars on the roads in the future – especially electric cars. If this convenience can be enhanced and combined with the other positive factors of car sharing, we might see an increase in this type of sustainable mobility.