Active mobility as a feeder to public transport
Most passengers use active mobility for the first and last mile of their public transport journeys. An attractive environment for walking, riding a scooter or cycling significantly increases acceptable travel distances. All stops and stations should be easily accessible and safe for users to maximise the potential of public transport.
VCÖ-Factsheet "Active mobility as a feeder to public transport" PDF Download
By 2040, the proportion of journeys made by public transport in Austria is to increase to 23 per cent from 16 per cent in the most recent survey conducted in 2018.1 To achieve this goal, a better offering and attractive infrastructure are needed to ensure that stops and stations can be reached safely and conveniently by active mobility. Pedestrian and bicycle-friendly planning can help triple the catchment area of public transport through active mobility.2 The potential for combining active mobility and public transport is enormous.
Most users actively travel to bus and train stations
Active mobility such as walking, riding a scooter or cycling is not only good for the body and mind, it is also the most energy-efficient and cost-effective mode of transport. More than 40 per cent of all train passengers actively travel to the station. The share of active mobility in the overall travel chain is even higher, as many people use public transport to reach the train station, which often includes walking or cycling.3 In Vienna, 98 per cent of the passengers use active modes of travel to get to public transport stops.4
The route to public transport stops is crucial
Walking plays an important role in the attractiveness of travel by public transport in cities. This is not only because almost all passengers start or end their journey with a walk. Walking, transferring or waiting can take up half the time of the journey. The experiences made during that time are more memorable than the time spent in means of public transport. In a study, 70 per cent of respondents were more likely to report on the experiences made on the way to means of public transport or while waiting or transferring, rather than on the time spent travelling on public transport.5 The route to stops and stations therefore determines the attractiveness of public transport..
Access within walking distance increases train and bus use
Most people in Austria live within walking distance of a public transport stop with connections to the nearest regional centre. A third of the population lives less than 300 metres away from the closest stop, while 30 per cent have to travel over 500 metres. Just under one in ten people have to travel more than 1,250 metres to reach a stop that connects them to the nearest city centre. The provinces with the best transport connections are Vienna, Vorarlberg and Salzburg, while Styria, Carinthia and Upper Austria are the least well served. The average walking distance to the next stop is between 450 and 550 metres in the federal provinces. In Vienna it is 360 metres.6 People who walk less than five minutes from home to the nearest stop are eleven percentage points more likely to use public transport than people who walk more than 15 minutes to the nearest stop.7 Thus, the likelihood of using public transport depends not only on the transport services offered, but also on the access time.8
Bicycle use increases accessibility
A healthy person can walk one kilometre in 12 to 15 minutes. This means that walking to the next station or stop takes an average of seven minutes in the federal provinces and about five minutes in Vienna. Longer distances are more likely to be covered by bike, which in turn increases the accessibility of public transport. In 15 minutes, an average distance of 3.8 kilometres can be covered by bike, and even 5.4 kilometres by e-bike.9
Attractive environment expands the catchment area
The distances people are willing to walk or cycle depend both on individual and external factors. Individual factors include health, fitness, travel purpose, available transportation options and personal attitudes, while external factors include the attractiveness of the environment, the availability and quality of the infrastructure for active mobility but also shopping facilities along the route or the slope of the terrain. Apart from the latter, these factors can be easily controlled by traffic planning measures. It is very important for public transport to take external factors into account. After all, the quality of the infrastructure may increase the acceptable walking distance by up to 70 per cent. An attractive, traffic-calmed environment may extend the catchment area and thus the target group for public transport by up to three times.10
Traffic calming promotes cycling
An attractive environment not only increases the acceptable walking distance, it may also encourage longer cycling trips. Good infrastructure includes traffic-calming measures, such as a 30 km/h speed limit and the provision of adequate cycling paths or bicycle streets. These measures can extend the duration of acceptable cycle journeys by up to eleven minutes.11 In this period, riders may cover a distance of around three to four kilometres by (e)bike.12 Good cycling infrastructure not only provides better access to more distant stops and stations, it may also reduce the number of transfers by allowing people to cycle the first part of their journey, thus reducing the overall journey time. This requires the provision of sufficient and secure bike parking facilities or bike lockers at stops and stations.13
More train passengers use active travel modes
The number of train passengers in the Netherlands has increased by more than 80 per cent since 2000. It is worth noting that the number of train passengers cycling to the station has tripled, while the number of those arriving by car has fallen. This trend has been facilitated by modern, weather-protected and free bike parking facilities, combined with bike maintenance services. In the Netherlands, 32 train stations come with a bicycle service shop. There is also a nationwide bike sharing system, OV-Fiets, which is integrated into the public transport ticketing system, making it easy and simple to use.14
Active mobility saves space and costs
A ground-level bicycle parking space takes up about 1.6 square metres. A car takes up almost eight times the parking space. This does not even include the space needed to enter and exit the parking space. In 2024, around 47,000 Bike&Ride parking spaces are available at train stations in Austria. Park&Ride car parks offer more parking spaces and take up more than eleven times as much space for car traffic at train stations.15,16 This space is expensive to build and maintain. Walking takes up significantly less space than cycling.
Planning infrastructure with active mobility in mind
In order to maximise the potential of public transport, traffic planning should focus on the multimodality of a travel chain. An attractive and safe walking and cycling infrastructure is beneficial to all age groups and to the environment. Municipal and city authorities are primarily responsible for designing access to stops. However, providing attractive access should also be in the interests of transport companies and transport associations, which makes cooperation and coordination important. After all, stops and stations are the calling cards of municipalities, cities and public transport.
Providing more bike parking facilities at stations
In the province of Vorarlberg, cycling plays a significant role as a feeder to public transport. 77 per cent of Vorarlberg residents can reach the nearest public transport hub by bike in ten minutes or less. The transport association Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg promotes the combination of cycling and public transport. All train stations and many bus stops have bike parking facilities. At ten stations in Vorarlberg, passengers can also park their bikes in bike lockers for 1.80 euros per day. E-bikes can be charged for free. Users can book a bike locker in advance with the „VMobil” climate ticket.17,18
Securing safe accessibility
Accessibility of public transport is often disregarded in existing guidelines for the design of bus stops and railway stations. An integrated approach and the commitment of local decision-makers are therefore needed to implement attractive infrastructure for active travel to public transport. As part of Austria’s Mobility Master Plan, substantial funding is available to municipalities and cities. When it comes to implementation, there are many national and international examples of good practice that can serve as models.
VCÖ recommendations
Traffic planning: Consider the entire travel chain
- Integrate the routes to public transport, at the transfer point and to the final destination into the public transport travel chain.
Municipalities and cities: Improve walking and cycling infrastructure
- Appoint walking and cycling officers at local level.
- Use traffic calming measures and separate footpaths and cycling paths to make active mobility attractive.
- Think of bus stops and station forecourts as the calling cards of your municipality or city.
- Provide safe crossing facilities at each stop, especially at stops on rural roads.
- Take advantage of funding for walking and cycling.
Businesses: Implement corporate mobility management
- Consider accessibility of public transport when choosing a site.
- Design the business premises for active mobility: Provide adequate bike parking facilities as close to the entrance as possible and offer cycle sharing schemes.
- Cooperate with municipal authorities to ensure a safe infrastructure for employees to walk or cycle to the business site.
Katharina Jaschinsky, VCÖ ‑ Mobility with a future
„There should be a safe way to cross the road at every bus stop, in both urban and rural areas, so that children, the elderly and other people with reduced mobility can reach the bus safely and without stress.“
VCÖ-Factsheet "Active mobility as a feeder to public transport" PDF Download

VCÖ is responsible for the content and editing of the VCÖ factsheet. The content does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the supporting institutions. This factsheet was financed by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology and supported by the federal provinces of Upper Austria, Styria and Tyrol.
klimaaktiv mobil supports relevant stakeholders, decision-makers and investors in the development and implementation of climate-friendly measures in the transport sector. Info: klimaaktivmobil.at
Sources
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