ADAC survey on satisfaction with mobility in 15 largest German cities: Happiness travels on Dresden's public transport

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Tram on the Augustus Bridge in Dresden's old town (picture from 2014): Dense network, short distances

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Leonid Andronov/Getty Images

People are significantly more satisfied with the mobility options in Dresden than in other major German cities with over 500,000 inhabitants. The Saxon state capital leads the ranking of the “Mobile in the City” survey published by ADAC on Tuesday for all four means of transport examined: cars, local public transport (ÖPNV), bicycles and walking. Leipzig, Munich and Nuremberg followed at a distance. For the ranking of the 15 largest cities, more than 9,000 people were surveyed, both residents of the cities as well as commuters and visitors.

The satisfaction index for public transport in Dresden reached the highest value at 45 percent. The other cities, with the exception of Cologne and Duisburg, which came last, also showed positive values ​​for the availability of buses and trains. Good marks were given above all for the density of stops, short distances when changing trains and signage at train stations and stations.

Satisfaction with walking mobility predominates in all 15 cities, led by Dresden and Munich. The two cities also led the bicycle sub-index, although in many other places the dissatisfied answers predominated.

More competition for scarce space

There were clearly negative values ​​for car traffic. Here only Dresden achieved a slightly positive result with three percent satisfaction. At the bottom of the passenger car sub-ranking were Cologne, Hamburg and Stuttgart. In many places, commuters were even more critical than city residents about parking availability and fees, construction site management or the behavior of other road users. The behavior of e-scooter drivers in particular was assessed negatively - from the perspective of car drivers, cyclists as well as pedestrians.

Compared to the last ADAC mobility monitor from 2017, satisfaction has decreased noticeably in most cities, the ADAC said. Exceptions are Berlin, where the satisfaction index remained the same, and Dresden, where the value only fell slightly.

In fact, the transport offering has improved over the past six years, according to the ADAC. However, due to the increase in the number of cars and growing commuter traffic, there is more competition for the scarce space. The club quoted traffic researcher Meike Jipp from the German Aerospace Center, who suspects a corona effect: "During the pandemic, streets and means of transport were emptier," explained Jipp. “Many people now subjectively perceive something as a deterioration that is actually a return to previous mobility.”

ahh/dpa/AFP