The survey was conducted by SavantaComres. It gathered data from 12,000 people in 12 different cities around the world: Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, London, Milan, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, Warsaw and Washington D.C. This is the second year in a row that Hitachi Rail has commissioned such research.
Globally, people's default choice for long distance travel (2.5 hours or more) is 46% to drive, 34% to take the train and 16% to fly. However, the way people travel is not set in stone and respondents believe that their travel habits will change over the next five years. Globally, over a third (35%) expect to travel more by train, while 6% believe they will travel more by plane and 17% by car. When it comes to funding greener travel, 56% are in favour of raising air taxes to pay for new high-speed rail lines, while only a third are against the idea.
Of respondents whose default mode for long distance travel is car or plane, 63% would switch to rail if it was one hour faster and 75% would switch to rail if it was cheaper.
There is also a desire to use public transport more in the future, with 72% saying they would be more likely to use public transport if it were better connected. This support ranges from as high as 87% in Dubai and 85% in Milan and Warsaw to lower levels in Washington D.C. (56%) and Copenhagen (57%). Globally, almost half (49%) would still support the idea of a better-connected public transport system even if it were more expensive.
