LASUR Seminar - Francesca Cellina: "Sustained Car-Free Living"
Event details
| Date | 31.03.2026 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:45 |
| Speaker | Francesca Cellina |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
“Sustained car-free living: Long-term impacts of a one‑month mobility trial with car‑freeing incentives in Switzerland”
Mobility trials offering temporary access to sustainable transport modes are increasingly used to reduce car dependence, yet evidence on their long‑term effects is limited. We assess the one‑year impacts of the 31DAYS Challenge, a month‑long car‑free trial in Winterthur (Switzerland) that provided 754 participants with free use of an e‑bike, public transport, and car‑sharing, followed by a conditional car‑freeing incentive. Using a one‑group pretest–posttest design with 222 individuals and 196 households, we estimate changes in transport mode use and ownership and compare effects on incentive recipients and non‑recipients. Results show substantial, persistent behaviour change: 19% stopped using the car, and correspondingly use of e‑bike, train, and public transport increased. Car ownership markedly declined, with 21% of households becoming car‑free alongside increases in e‑bike and travelcard ownership. Incentives amplified effects, though the trial alone still produced meaningful long‑term reductions. Findings highlight car‑free trials – especially when paired with incentives – as cost‑effective tools for promoting car‑free living.
Researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), she has a background in both environmental engineering (Master degree) and social sciences (PhD degree). She performs trans-disciplinary research activities to foster the transition towards a low carbon and energy-sufficient society, particularly in the domain of urban mobility (how can we reduce car use?) and long-distance mobility (how can we reduce air travel?). She is experienced in participatory, living lab processes that exploit co-creation and co-design techniques to engage individuals and stakeholders in real-life interventions aimed at triggering the needed societal transition. In the last decade, her research focused on the design of app-based ICT tools supporting individuals and communities in implementing the transition, and on the strict evaluation of their effectiveness.
Mobility trials offering temporary access to sustainable transport modes are increasingly used to reduce car dependence, yet evidence on their long‑term effects is limited. We assess the one‑year impacts of the 31DAYS Challenge, a month‑long car‑free trial in Winterthur (Switzerland) that provided 754 participants with free use of an e‑bike, public transport, and car‑sharing, followed by a conditional car‑freeing incentive. Using a one‑group pretest–posttest design with 222 individuals and 196 households, we estimate changes in transport mode use and ownership and compare effects on incentive recipients and non‑recipients. Results show substantial, persistent behaviour change: 19% stopped using the car, and correspondingly use of e‑bike, train, and public transport increased. Car ownership markedly declined, with 21% of households becoming car‑free alongside increases in e‑bike and travelcard ownership. Incentives amplified effects, though the trial alone still produced meaningful long‑term reductions. Findings highlight car‑free trials – especially when paired with incentives – as cost‑effective tools for promoting car‑free living.
Researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), she has a background in both environmental engineering (Master degree) and social sciences (PhD degree). She performs trans-disciplinary research activities to foster the transition towards a low carbon and energy-sufficient society, particularly in the domain of urban mobility (how can we reduce car use?) and long-distance mobility (how can we reduce air travel?). She is experienced in participatory, living lab processes that exploit co-creation and co-design techniques to engage individuals and stakeholders in real-life interventions aimed at triggering the needed societal transition. In the last decade, her research focused on the design of app-based ICT tools supporting individuals and communities in implementing the transition, and on the strict evaluation of their effectiveness.
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