Stated Preference survey on transport modes, routes and departure times

In addition to the Mobility and Transport Microcensus (MTMC) the ARE conducts a stated preference (SP) survey to gather data on people’s choices with regard to mode of transport, route and, starting from 2021, departure/arrival time. The data gathered in this way is used to arrive at a better understanding of these choices. It is also needed as a basis for transport modelling.

How does an SP survey work?

Respondents are presented with situations involving several options and modified characteristics. Respondents choose one of the options on the basis of these characteristics.

Example of a decision situation in a SP survey on mode choice.

The following aspects can be evaluated on the basis of SP surveys:

• Preferences for options that do not (yet) exist, such as a new, faster route;
• preferences for transport characteristics that vary little in reality, such as the travel costs of different routes to the same destination, or characteristics that are highly correlated, such as the travel costs and travel time of a route.

To ensure that the situations are as realistic as possible, the situations are based on the respondents’ actual travel behaviour which is obtained beforehand (known as Revealed Preference data, or RP for short, based on the MRMT). For the analysis, the statistical models combine the SP data with the RP data. In this way, the actual behaviour, as revealed by the MRMT, has been taken into account in the modelling as well.

Main indicators

Based on these models, two important indicators in transport analyses can be obtained:

• The value of travel time (VTT): The price people are willing to pay to save an hour of travel time. The higher this value, the more unpleasant the travel time is perceived;
• Elasticities: Percentage change in demand for a transport mode for a one per cent change in travel time or cost. The higher this value, the stronger the reaction of traffic volumes to such a change.

These values depend on various factors, such as income, the purpose of the journey (e.g. working or leisure) and the distance travelled.

• Documents

  • Steckbrief Stated-Preference-Befragung zum Verkehrsverhalten

    PDF158.09 kB1 December 2024

  • Analysis of the Stated Preference Survey 2021 on Mode, Route and Departure Time Choices

    PDF7.04 MB1 June 2024

  • Enquête sur les choix relatifs aux comportements de mobilité 2021

    This report describes the stated preference survey used in 2021. In French; Summary in English.

    PDF9.38 MB12 July 2022

  Surveying and analysing mode and route choices in Switzerland 2010 – 2015

  This article has been published in the journal Travel Behaviour and Society. The authors analyze the Stated Preference surveys 2010 and 2015 and show that the willingness-to-pay for travel time savings remains stable between 2010 and 2015. This validates and facilitates cost-benefit analysis for transport infrastructures.

  • Analyse der SP-Befragung 2015 zur Verkehrsmodus- und Routenwahl

    Dieser Bericht beschreibt mehrere Modelle für die Verkehrsmittel- und Routenwahl, die auf der Grundlage des Stated-Preference-Fragebogens 2015 geschätzt wurden. Entwicklungen, die aus der Erhebung hervorgegangen sind, werden darin dargestellt und beurteilt, damit sie für die Verkehrsmodellierung verwendet werden können.

    PDF5.50 MB1 September 2017

  • SP-Befragung 2015 zum Verkehrsverhalten

    PDF3.27 MB1 September 2016

  • Stated Preference-Befragung (SP-Befragung) 2010 zum Verkehrsverhalten im Personenverkehr

    Um die Reaktion des Verkehrsverhaltens auf Veränderungen des Verkehrsangebots inkl. Preise besser beurteilen zu können, wurde im Auftrag des ARE mit Unterstützung einer Reihe von Kantonen und der SBB eine Stated Preference-Befragung (SP-Befragung) 2010 zum Verkehrsverhalten im Personenverkehr durchgeführt. Mit der Methode der SP-Befragung werden mögliche Verhaltensänderungen der Befragten durch die Vorgabe mehrerer Alternativen mit veränderten Rahmenbedingungen ermittelt.

    PDF4.65 MB8 May 2012

  • Übersicht zu Stated Preference-Studien in der Schweiz und Abschätzung von Gesamtelastizitäten

    This report compares the data gathered in the 2010 stated preference survey with that of earlier studies. It makes recommendations on the general elasticities of demand that are to be used to forecast energy usage up to 2050. In German; Abstract in French.

    PDF1.01 MB25 April 2012

Access to Stated-Preference-Data

This dataset contains the results of a stated preference (SP) survey. The surveys took place in 2010, 2015 and 2021. They collected data on people’s choice with regard to mode of transport, route and, starting from 2021, departure/arrival time . The choice situations are based on trips respondents have actually reported in the Mobility and Transport Microcensus (MTMC). The MTMC ist a revealed preference (RP) survey. The delivered data contain consequently both RP and SP data.