Environmental impact is an ‘important’ consideration factor for three quarters of EU citizens when planning a regional or long-distance journey, according to a new Eurobarometer report.
However, at the same time, just one in five (21%) actually adjust their journeys based on environmental considerations, with 22% answering that they would ‘find it difficult’ to change their habits.
A similar percentage (22%) said that they would struggle to find sustainable travel alternatives.
Multimodal Digital Mobility Service
The Multimodal Digital Mobility Service study examined EU citizens travel habits, preferences and experiences, including their frequency of travel, factors that affect their travel plans, and their use of different transport modes and multimodal journeys.
With regard to environmental considerations, one in eight (12%) respondents said that they ‘cannot afford’ more sustainable travel options, while 16% answered that the environment is not a major factor in their travel decisions.
The likelihood of adjusting travel plans due to environmental considerations varies from country to country, with 33% of respondents in Romania willing to adapt their journey – the highest percentage in the EU.
This is followed by Bulgaria (31%), Portugal (27%), Hungary (26%), and Germany and Italy (both 25%).
At the other end of the scale, however, only 8% of Latvians said they would be willing to adapt their journey for environmental reasons.
Cost the top factor
Cost (46%) was cited as the top motivating factor that would encourage people to choose eco-friendly travel options, followed by speed of travel (29%) and convenient departure or arrival times (28%).
Just over a fifth cited the ease of finding a sufficient environmentally friendly alternative, while 21% pointed to the comfort of the vehicles meeting their needs and expectations.
Cost parity for more sustainable travel was high on the agenda – i.e. accounting for more than 50% – in 11 EU countries, and was as high as 67% in Cyprus. In other countries, the proportion varied between 34% in Hungary and 49% in the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden.
Elsewhere, when combining different collective transport modes or operators – known as multimodal travel – many respondents expressed concerns about the complexity of purchasing multiple tickets, and/or the risk of missing connections. For rail journeys involving multiple operators, 25% of respondents found the booking process challenging. Read more here.
