Topics for theses / master

In cooperation with the VDV, key decision-makers in the public transport sector are to be interviewed about their choice of transport. The focus is on their everyday lives, their strategies and how they deal with cognitive dissonance.

What is the current state of research on this topic (literature review)?
How can the unwanted avoidance of journeys in the sense of a lack of participation be distinguished from an ecologically desirable avoidance of transportation? Which questions can be used to approach immobility in a differentiated way?

Rebound effects can reduce the effectiveness of traffic-related measures, as changes in people's behavior can lead to unplanned additional consumption of energy, for example. The size of the rebound effects varies greatly depending on the period and area under investigation. A meta-analysis is required for a valid quantification of the rebound effects. A meta-analysis summarizes the results of several similar studies on one question or variable. By weighting the individual study results according to defined criteria, an average value of the variable can be formed.

The aim is to develop and implement a theoretical concept for a meta-analysis of rebound effects. The focus will be on the rebound effects of an example measure, for example the introduction of stationless car sharing, an expansion of the road transport infrastructure or the promotion of working from home.

The large commercial car-sharing providers continue to concentrate on the big cities. Nevertheless, cars are also lent to each other and shared in rural areas. However, these lending processes are not recognizable as such by outsiders and have hardly been researched scientifically. In the context of this work, the example of a rural community will be used to investigate how often, due to which circumstances, according to which decision criteria and for which purposes private cars are currently informally lent between households.

For this purpose a questionnaire is to be developed on the basis of a literature research, which determines the everyday practices and attitudes to informal car sharing with differently familiar groups of persons. With this questionnaire a pretest is to be carried out and evaluated with simple statistical procedures. On the basis of the response behavior, the suitability of the questionnaire for the research objective is to be reflected, including concrete suggestions for changes. The questionnaire can be filled out by the target group in presence or online.

Similar to car sharing, the large commercial ridesharing providers also concentrate on the big cities. Nevertheless, even in rural areas, people are given rides in their private cars or something is brought to them on demand. However, these ridesharing and bring-along practices are not recognizable as such by outsiders and have hardly been researched scientifically. In the context of this work it is to be examined on the example of a rural municipality, how often, due to which circumstances, after which decision criteria and for which purposes at present informally private people take others or bring them certain goods.

For this, a questionnaire is to be developed on the basis of a literature research, which determines the everyday practices and attitudes to the informal taking along and bringing along with differently familiar groups of persons. A pretest is to be conducted with this questionnaire and evaluated with simple statistical methods. On the basis of the response behavior, the suitability of the questionnaire for the research objective is to be reflected, including concrete suggestions for changes. The questionnaire can be filled out by the target group in presence or online.