Driving license holders take a critical view of the traffic turnaround

However, a recent online survey shows that 60% of respondents do not believe in the traffic turnaround by 2030 - only one in ten (11%) believes it can be achieved by then: On behalf of the parking technology provider EasyPark, the market and opinion research institute YouGov Germany wanted to know from German drivers' license holders what they think about the traffic turnaround and what wishes and ideas they have for the future. One fifth of those surveyed would give up their own car to accelerate the mobility revolution, but 43% of respondents believe that the government is primarily responsible for achieving the goals. Consequently, 45 % of all respondents think that the government should do more to successfully implement the transport revolution.

More than half of those surveyed (53%) would not want to do without a car, even if it accelerated the traffic turnaround. There is a strong age divide here: While 60 % of those over 54 would not give up their car, 36 % of those under 25 would. Almost half of all respondents (48 %) would also not give up parking spaces in their city in order to accelerate the achievement of the goals of the traffic turnaround in their own city.

After all, almost a third (31%) would give up parking spaces in the city for more bike lanes, and almost as many respondents (33%) are in favor of a general speed limit in city centers of 30 km/h. The results also show that most cannot imagine a city without a car: More than half of respondents (56 %) doubt that cars will disappear completely from city centers in the next ten years, and 48 % do not believe that cars will be allowed to park in city centers in ten years' time.

When it comes to parking, there is a strong desire for more digital offerings: four out of ten respondents (39%) believe that parking meters will disappear completely from city centers in the next ten years, and 45% think that parking fees can be paid via app throughout Germany instead. Overall, nearly half of respondents said they had already used a parking app (26%) or planned to do so in the future (19%). In addition, six out of ten respondents (59%) think that in ten years' time there will no longer be printed parking permits for residents, but that license plates will be recorded digitally when they are checked. Six out of ten respondents (62%) agree that cities should make their parking management smarter - for example, by providing a digital parking guidance system that helps drivers find free parking spaces more quickly, while reducing parking search traffic and thus emissions in the city. For one:n in two:n (52 %), moving cars to parking garages also contributes to a more pleasant streetscape because fewer cars are parked on the street as a result. Consequently, 54 % believe that city governments should invest more in parking garages.

The survey was conducted by YouGov between June 28, 2023 and June 30, 2023. A total of 2,028 people living in Germany and holding a driver's license were surveyed.