Travel survey of associate members of TUD

On the survey date, 71% of students and 83% of employees had a commute to the university. Since 2018, bicycles have been the most frequently used means of transport for employees on this route, while students use public transport.

© Prof. MSP

In 2025, around one in four employees traveled to work by car, while only around one in 20 students used a car to get to university. With a share of over 50%, the majority of students come to campus by bus, streetcar, S-Bahn and train, not least because of their permanently available semester ticket. Among employees, too, the very good accessibility of the Südvorstadt campus through the public transport system, stops within walking distance of their place of residence and the discounted Deutschlandticket as a job ticket ensure that almost 30% of them use public transport to reach the university. After all, almost one in eight students walk to the university exclusively on foot due to a residential location very close to the campus. Overall, the percentages fluctuate slightly between the survey years, as the choice of means of transport is heavily dependent on the seasonal location of the survey dates.

In order to better take into account seasonal changes in mobility behavior and fluctuations on specific dates, the usual choice of means of transport in summer and winter was analyzed in the survey.

© Professur MSP

It is clear that although car use (MIV) is subject to slight seasonal fluctuations, it has remained very stable over time since 2018, with a usage share of between 22% in summer and 28% in winter. As expected, bicycle use in particular fluctuates much more strongly depending on the season, while walking is independent of the season. Students increasingly switch to public transport in winter, while both car use and public transport use increase among employees in winter. Overall, the evaluations confirm the high comparability of the 2018, 2022 and 2025 survey rounds.

All employees and students were invited to take part in the survey via the university's central email distribution list. There were several reminder stages and channels to publicize the survey internally. Participation took place conveniently online via a survey tool. There was a special questionnaire for students and one for employees. These questionnaires collected information on daily mobility behavior, such as the means of transport used and the frequency of use. The results were evaluated anonymously after the field phase so that your personal data remained protected. In order to record mobility behaviour on a typical day at the university, the focus was on average working days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) during the regular lecture period outside of vacation periods and public holidays.

• Your participation in the survey helps us to better understand mobility behavior at the university and identify long-term trends.
• The results provide important insights for further improving the university's mobility services and developing sustainable solutions.
• In addition, targeted manner measures can be developed to promote environmentally friendly mobility and improve traffic conditions.

The survey aims to better understand the mobility needs and experiences of university members and to further optimize the already good accessibility of the TUD.

The survey examines the following key questions, among others:

• Which means of transportation do employees and students use to reach the TUD every day and why do they choose exactly these?
• What individual requirements and framework conditions do employees and students have for their mobility behavior?
• Can characteristic patterns in mobility behavior be identified and how does mobility at the TUD develop over time?
• What are the specific requirements for action and how do employees and students feel about potential mobility-related measures at the TUD?

The survey focuses on the mobility behavior of university members, i.e. their journeys to the university, the challenges they face and where there is still room for improvement.

• Choice of means of transportation on the way to university
• Seasonal differences in mobility behavior
• Changes in mobility behavior
• Residential location situation
• Influence of working from home and digital teaching on presence on campus
• Vehicle availability and access to transportation
• Use of public transport
• Reasons for and obstacles to using different means of transport
• Germany ticket as a job and semester ticket
• Sharing offers
• Parking situation on campus

The content of the mobility survey ensures a high degree of comparability with the data from previous surveys and thus enables, among other things, the evaluation of time series comparisons for the years 2008, 2018, 2022 and 2025. The survey is intended to provide a balanced analysis of all modes of transport.

The mobility survey will be carried out at the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, under the leadership of the Chair of Mobility System Planning, where the results will then be evaluated and compared with previous surveys. In the long term, such a survey should take place regularly, approximately every 3–5 years.