FAIRlagern

FAIRlagern was developed in response to the persistent dominance of private car use in rural Austria, despite the availability of sustainable alternatives. The project was part of the “Sustainable Mobility in Practice” programme, funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund (2023 call). It sought to break entrenched mobility habits through situational communication strategies rather than traditional demographic segmentation.

The project’s core innovation lies in its behavioural approach: instead of targeting people based on who they are (e.g., age, income), it focused on when and why they make mobility decisions. Interventions were designed around specific decision-making moments, such as school drop-offs, medical appointments, or quick errands, and delivered through low-threshold prompts and incentives. These included analogue cues like beer coasters with transport information in restaurants and reward-based mobility passes for schoolchildren. Complementary digital actions were implemented through situational social media campaigns featuring trusted local figures, ensuring inclusivity across different age and digital literacy levels. 

The project targeted short-distance travel behaviour, aiming to shift choices away from car use toward walking, cycling, and public transport. It employed behavioural insights tools including the COM-B model—focusing on capability (clear information), opportunity (visible cues), and motivation (emotional appeal and rewards).

Additional techniques included salience nudges(by placing cues at decision points), social norms (by using local role models), habit disruption (by leveraging the start of the school year) and use of incentives (by using collection passes for active school trips).

The situational targeting approach increased message relevance and effectively interrupted routine car use.

Effectiveness was monitored through benchmark counts, social media analytics, and qualitative interviews.

In Neufeld, active school trips increased by 28.3% on the reference day. In Güssing, awareness and use of the local demand-responsive taxi service (BAST) rose. Eisenstadt’s social media campaign reached over 50,000 people with a budget of just €140, generating over 70,000 impressions and sparking community discussions.

The project demonstrated high cost-effectiveness, with physical cues and digital outreach delivered at minimal expense. Overall implementation cost was €109,000. Findings suggest that situation-based approaches yield stronger behavioural change than demographic segmentation, especially when timed around routine breaks. 

The FAIRlagern toolkit, which includes a step-by-step guide, supports replication and scaling to other municipalities and themes.