Transforming Mobility into Sustainable E-Mobility: The Example of Rhein-Main Region

Abstract

The probability that German mobilists are ready to make their everyday mobility more sustainable is still not very high, as individual mobility has a very high social standing. It has been the objectives of the social scientific accompanying research of ‘Modellregion E-Moblität Rhein-Main’ (See also Schäfer et al. in this volume) to explore the acceptance of e-mobility as well as develop strategies to improve the applicability of concepts of e-mobility that are currently in a testing stage. Explorative in-depth interviews with selected people of the region, group discussions with users of e-vehicles and creative workshops with lead users of e-mobility identified the following facts and relationships: the central motive for choosing the means of transportation is the convenience it offers to master every day demands of mobility. As a consequence the added value of e-mobility is not sustainability, but the chance to cope with everyday mobility demands. Secondly, e-mobility brings fun but is still much too expensive and under regulated. Thirdly, giving users the opportunity to participate in the development of technical and infrastructural aspects of e-mobility increases their readiness to change behavior.