Cost Comparison: Public Transport, Ecomobility, and Car Use in Germany

Text is Work-In-Progress Introduction Public debate about mobility often focuses on ticket prices, fuel costs, or whether “owning a car pays off.” This perspective is too narrow. Mobility is not just an individual consumption choice but also a question of infrastructure, spatial structure, social participation, and societal financing. Anyone seriously examining the cost comparison between cars and public transport must consider both direct household expenditures and broader macroeconomic consequences.1 2 In Germany, mobility is spatially very unevenly organized. In densely urban areas, many trips can be completed using the Umweltverbund (ecomobility; the sustainable bundle of public transport, cycling, and walking). In rural areas, however, cars are often not merely a convenience option but a prerequisite for everyday mobility.3 4 This creates a fundamental difference: while cities primarily ask how mobility can be organized affordably and with low emissions, rural areas frequently grapple with ensuring mobility reliability in the first place.4 5