German National Travel Survey 'MiD 2016 – Mobility in Germany': New Challenges – New Approaches

Abstract

Following the long tradition of nationwide household travel surveys in Germany beginning in 1976 (KONTIV 1976, 1982, 1989; MiD 2002, 2008), a new survey will be conducted form June 2016 to June 2017 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Transport. Again, the main objective of this cross-sectional survey is to provide representative and reliable information on the country’s everyday mobility: Individual one-day trip diaries will be collected along with socio-demographic characteristics of private households (such as household composition in terms of age and gender or car ownership) and individual characteristics (such as driving licence holding or de facto car availability) that are likely to influence actual mobility behaviour. To a great extent, the methodological approach of the upcoming survey will correspond to its immediate predecessors of 2002 and 2008 to ensure extensive comparability over time. Nevertheless, several adjustments have been made to meet known challenges (e.g. difficult recruitment, decreasing response rates) and to serve emerging data needs (e.g. impact of multiple car ownership or innovative mobility services, importance of non-car modes, implications of demographic change and changing spatial structures). Methodological changes apply at different levels such as sampling design, survey instruments, topics and the integration of supplementary spatial data. The paper will discuss the rationale behind methodological changes as well as expected consequences throughout all survey processes such as data collection, data processing, weighting, projection and data analysis.