Mobility patterns are learnt and shaped by the social environment. In order to raise awareness of mobility issues, the topic of sustainable mobility should be regularly addressed in schools and out-of-school youth facilities. The mobility patterns of children and young people will have a strong impact on their mobility behaviour as adults.

VCÖ-Factsheet "Enabling active and climate-friendly youth mobility" as PDF

Young people’s mobility needs change when they grow up, depending on, for example, school, education, apprenticeship and leisure activities. Over 41 percent of young people aged 15 to 19 use public transport on working days. The share of journeys walked or cycled decreases as they get older due to longer distances. The proportion of young car drivers is low until about the age of 17, when the car starts playing a role, especially in rural areas.¹ In this phase, independent mobility emerges. It is therefore all the more important for young people to have access to attractive and reliable transport options.

Implementing climate protection in mobility

In Austria, 55 percent of those aged 15 to 35 say that the climate crisis is the greatest societal challenge of our time. Across Europe, 65 percent of young people aged 15 to 19 would be ready to adapt their mobility behaviour and travel only in a climate-friendly way.² This willingness can be encouraged at an early stage by transferring knowledge in educational and youth institutions and providing adequate public transport services, additional flexible transport options as well as walking and cycling paths.

Among young people aged 15 to 19, the share of those walking drops to nine to twelve percent on weekdays, compared to 26 percent among those aged six to 14. This is probably due to the longer routes to school and the accessibility of other means of transport, such as public transport, mopeds and the L17 driving licence for cars granted at the age of 17.

Young people make more than 41 percent of their trips by public transport. For 21 percent of their journeys, they drive a moped, motorcycle or car.³

Affordable annual tickets are well received

From its introduction in October 2021 until October 2022, more than 200,000 climate tickets (KlimaTickets) valid across Austria were sold – 63,000 of which were youth tickets. The youth annual tickets of the transport associations (Verkehrsverbünde) demonstrate that cheap tickets make public transport highly attractive for young people.7 In 2021, for example, around 250,000 young people, i.e. about 50 to 60 percent of those aged below 24 years in the eastern region, used the Top Youth Pass (Top-Jugendticket) of the transport association for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.⁸

Many apprentices also use the Top Youth Pass. However, use among them declines as soon as they have their own car or moped. Moreover, in some rural regions, adequate public transport connections are often not available when needed. Apprentices in Vienna state that they like and use car sharing offers.⁹

Shift in age of novice drivers

While in 2006 about 20 percent of all new car driving licences had been issued to 17-year-olds, the figure already stood at some 34 percent in 2021.¹⁰ Especially for young people from rural regions, obtaining a driving licence has advantages. For young people in the city, it is less important. Enjoyment of driving is no longer a key motive for getting a driving licence.

While the share of 17-year-olds among novice drivers in Vienna was a mere eleven percent in 2021, the figure was 55 percent in the province of Burgenland. The share of those who obtained their car driving licences after the age of 19 rose from 17 percent in 2006 to 30 percent in 2021. In general, it can be said that category B driving licences are obtained later nowadays. While the average age in Austria was 18.7 years in 2006, it rose to 19.8 years in 2020.¹⁰

Mobility management in places of education

Mobility management should be implemented in all educational institutions. The klimaaktiv mobil programme of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action advises educational institutions and provides teaching material for all age groups. This way, it has reached out to more than 500 educational institutions by 2022.¹¹ The issue of mobility is integrated into the lessons in a variety of ways. For example, the Pollution Catcher is an experiment to measure outdoor air quality at schools.

Another practical test is the Space Consumption Experiment that illustrates the huge space requirements of cars.

An evaluation of the klimaaktiv mobil consulting programme for children and young people in the school year 2020/21 has shown that about 700,000 car kilometres shifted to other modes of transport in that school year. 83 percent of the educational institutions questioned indicated that they had observed a significant and positive effect on the students’ mobility behaviour. In addition, at 50 percent of the educational institutions, the local transport situation was improved, for example through better coordination of bus timetables with school hours.¹¹

Extracurricular institutions are vital

Out-of-school youth facilities also play an important role in actively involving young people and raising awareness of climate-friendly mobility. The klimaaktiv mobil consulting programme for children and young people helps municipalities, cities and regions as well as youngsters implement local traffic measures, for instance, by providing advice, financial subsidies and strengthening the competence of professionals through training opportunities.¹²

Digitalisation as a game-changer

Mobility apps that integrate travel options within a region are easy to use for young people. Videos, stories, memes or comics can be used to provide information. About 95 percent of young people in Austria are using YouTube, 81 percent Instagram and 71 percent TikTok.¹³ The mobility behaviour of young people changes over time; their independent mobility is shaped especially up to the age of 19. The requirements for transport services vary among youngsters, ranging from personal preferences such as safety and image to accessibility. Young people consider active and sustainable mobility solutions positive and also use them. They are also more open to new technologies and new offers such as car and bike sharing. Actively involving youngsters in the design and planning processes of mobility services raises awareness of climate-friendly mobility.

Raising awareness of mobility issues

Children, young people, parents and teachers are important groups to address when it comes to enabling the transition towards sustainable mobility. Spreading knowledge already in school and out-of-school institutions will raise awareness of sustainable mobility solutions such as public transport, cycling and walking. Digitalisation can open up new possibilities by quickly informing young people, who are digital natives, through digital platforms and providing the fastest, easiest and, if required, most cost-efficient or environmentally-friendly connection via mobility apps.

Lina Mosshammer, VCÖ ‑ Mobility with a future

„Young people see the need for a change and a shift to sustainable mobility. It is important for us to exploit this potential to fight the climate crisis.“

VCÖ-Factsheet "Enabling active and climate-friendly youth mobility" as PDF

The content and editorial creation of the VCÖ factsheet is done by VCÖ. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the supporting institutions. This factsheet was produced with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.

In 2022, funding for active mobility and sustainable mobility management in the amount of up to 60 million euros is available within the framework of klimaaktiv mobil. The klimaaktiv mobil programme for the tourism and leisure sector provides funding for climate-friendly tourism and sustainable leisure facilities.

More information available at: klimaaktivmobil.at/tourismus

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