Live a sustainable life
Trying it out is about studying: This is how life is without your own car
18.03.2023
100 people from the canton of Bern wanted to find out just that, giving up their own cars for one month as part of the “31 days challenge”. We spoke to four participants who literally ventured into new territory.
The deal is as follows: The car key must be surrendered for 31 days. In return, you receive an e-bike, a Trial GA Travelcard and a Mobility trial subscription, amongst other benefits. This is exactly what 100 people across the canton of Bern did in June as part of an experiment.
The idea of 31 Days Challenge comes from the Pfadi Federal Camp and was implemented by the ÖV42 Consortium. This consists of SBB, BLS, Schweizerische Südostbahn (SOB), Postauto AG, the Canton of St. Gallen and the cooperative 42hacks. The latter specialises in helping more people make the switch from their own car to public transport. “We establish innovative and enterprising methods for encouraging people to switch from motorised private transport to alternative modes of transport, including public transport, in order to reduce unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions”, explains co-founder, Jessica Schmid.
But what does life without your own car look like in practice? We wanted to find out, so we spoke to people who have taken the plunge – and accumulated rather different experiences in the process.
The Grassis: The freedom to discover new things
Andreas Grassi and his wife Katy Rhiner Grassi actually did it. You have handed over the key – definitely. During the 31 days challenge, they said goodbye to their Peugeot 208. After owning a car for 50 years, Andreas Grassi finally took the step that he and his wife had been considering for a while. “We originally wanted to give up the car at the end of the year”, the retired vocational school teacher explains. “Now we’ve used this challenge to make headaches.”
Reactions from those around us were not long in coming, as Katy Rhiner Grassi reveals: “There were lots of “but” questions. ‘But how are you going to do it? But how are you going to get there? But what if…?.””The fact is that the two found an answer for every “but”. Andreas Grassi says: “As soon as you do without a car, your focus and perception of your own mobility shift.”
For example, the couple have been travelling regularly from their home in Thun to their holiday home in Ticino for years. They generally take the Simplon Pass. “When you're driving, you're just focused on getting from A to B as quickly as possible”, Andreas Grassi adds. “In all these years, it would never have occurred to me to stop in Simplon Dorf.” Driving without a car, the couple takes a look at the public transport connections for the first time. “Once we realised how good the links were along the route, we soon decided to do a stopover in Simplon. We are completely taken with this place. And we never would have discovered it if we’d taken the car”.
Colette Kappes: Cheese and bread, return
Colette Kappes (38) lives with her family in a small village just outside the city of Bern, the wonderfully named Chäs und Brot (“cheese and bread”). And, as is the case in many rural areas, here a car is a standard accessory. Despite this – or maybe even because of this – Colette Kappes, her husband, their two children, their dog and their cat gave up their car for a month (although it should be said the cat was never particularly at home in the car). “We had lived in Bern city centre for a year previously and got on well without a car”, Colette Kappes explains. Since then, they had often entertained the thought of parting ways with their car. “The 31 days challenge was a great opportunity to see how that would play out in practice”.
No sooner said than done. Her initial conclusions were positive. “Obviously the lovely weather made the e-bike a great option. “I would like to take the test again in autumn/winter if the weather is less friendly.” In addition to their e-bike, the family used public transport and Mobility car sharing during the month of the test. They mainly used the latter to take their dog to obedience school. “If Mobility opened another station near to us, that would be the perfect addition”.
Anyone who talks to Colette Kappes will feel that the 31days Challenge has triggered a lot for her and the rest of the family. And indeed: “After careful consideration, we decided to say goodbye to our own car.” At the end of July, the beloved old Volvo found a new owner. Congratulations!
Patrik Ritter: The e-bike as a revelation
It was an advertising banner for the 31days Challenge on Facebook that caught the eye of Patrik Ritter (39). “I found the idea interesting and discussed it with my partner.” After a minimum of persuasion, they dared to put their VW Passat on the proverbial sidelines for a month.
For Patrik Ritter, using an e-bike proved a particularly positive experience. “The journeys to the daycare centre with the son in a trailer were fun – the fitness aspect is also a welcome side effect.” And: “On an e-bike, you can take care of small errands without spending a long time searching for a parking space.”
Whilst the IT specialist works partly from home in Münsingen, his partner uses public transport and Mobility for work purposes. Ritter has a lot to gain from this combined mobility solution, but also sees challenges: “The practicality of owning a car is hard to beat, especially with a small child.”
The GA Travelcard is an interesting offer, but, as a small family, the amount of travelling they do is not currently enough for them to truly make the most of the offer. “What I did learn, though, is how to make more conscious decisions about which modes of transport I use and when”.
So, is it worth it?
All 100 participants completed the ‘31days Challenge’ without their own car.
27 percent of the cars were sold during or after the Challenge. It means twelve households are completely car-free, while six have just one car instead of two.
A further 26 households are sticking with their own car but have purchased a Reka RAIL, an excursion pass or a GA travelcard.
Going forward, as a result of the Challenge, 90 percent said they would think before using their car or would use it less.
Interview on the digitalization of mobility: “Convenience is a decisive factor”
Thomas Sauter-Servaes is the Transportation Systems course directors at ZHAW School of Engineering. The mobility researcher has identified digitalisation as a huge opportunity to redistribute traffic in a sustainable way.
Thomas Sauter-Servaes, participants in the 31 days challengeresponded positively when asked about their experience of the experiment. Many have even given up their cars for good. What will it take for more people to do the same?
Thomas Sauters Servaes: Convenience is a key factor. The beauty of the car is that it’s the ultimate complexity reducer: Turn on the sat nav – and off you go. From then on, it’s all about “use without thinking”. All other options require significantly more planning in advance and during use.
How can we reduce the effort involved in planning?
Thomas Sauters Servaes: Perhaps a cross between Amazon’s Alexa and OpenAI systems such as ChatGPT is the solution: a personal mobility bot that will always put together the best combination of means of transport for me based on my preferences. Tough decisions would be a thing of the past, as the software could book the best rates automatically and gently redirect me to avoid any traffic disruption.
Does the future of mixed mobility offers lie in even greater individualisation?
Thomas Sauters Servaes: This could be the opportunity that digitalisation offers us: Without any noticeable increase in complexity, my virtual mobility assistant can tailor an offer to my needs. As a user, I don’t need to be interested in the jungle of tariffs in the background. However, the prerequisite is that the offer of public transport and the sharing world is so good that it can be used to create attractive, cross-transport journeys.