40 Viennese give up cars: experiment for new mobility starts!

40 Viennese give up cars: experiment for new mobility starts!

On April 30, 2025, Wiener Linien will launch an innovative car bet that encourages 40 Viennese to leave their cars in the garage for three months. The aim of the initiative is to analyze traffic behavior and promote alternative forms of mobility. The bet begins on Thursday and includes a test phase from May to July 2025, during which participants do without their car and use alternative means of transport.

Almost 3,000 applications were received for this project, of which 40 households were selected, including up to 20 from the Währing district. Participants receive a monthly mobility budget of 500 euros, which is available in the form of prepaid credit cards. This budget can be used for public transport, car sharing, bike sharing and scooter sharing, which underlines the diversity of mobility offers in Vienna.

A step towards sustainable mobility

The city of Vienna is pursuing the goal of reducing the level of motorization of private cars to 250 per 1,000 inhabitants by 2030. There is already a promising signal: since 2015, there have been more annual pass holders in Vienna than registered cars. This indicates a change in people's mobility behavior.

According to data from last year, the number of cars has decreased in 18 districts of Vienna. In 13 of these, the number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants is even below 400, which underlines the efforts to make mobility more environmentally friendly. Währing is selected as a partner district for this project and benefits from synergies that have arisen as part of the Währing climate team.

Accompanying research and analysis

The project is scientifically supported by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. A digital logbook that runs via an app records the participants’ individual journeys. Wiener Linien intends to analyze the actual use of one's own car and the mobility budget. In order to be able to discuss the participants' experiences during the test phase, three personal exchange formats are planned.

The shift to alternative modes of transport reflects the global trend documented in a study of urban transport behavior, which found increasing interest in walking and cycling. In recent years, public transport has regained importance after a pandemic-related slump, supported by various ticket offers.

These developments show that cities like Vienna are increasingly striving for sustainable mobility solutions to increase the quality of life and relieve traffic. Participation in the car bet could not only change the personal mobility behavior of the participants, but also provide important insights for future traffic planning in the city.

For more information about the car bet, visit the official Wiener Linien pages: Vienna lines, or to the press release from the City of Vienna: City of Vienna. In addition, study results and findings about traffic behavior in urban areas can be found at International transport.