Causes and effects of suburban traffic dynamics : A case study in a municipality close to Munich

The current transportation infrastructure in most cities and municipalities is not designed to cope with the continually increasing volume of traffic, especially during rush hours. Furthermore, in many cases, the increasing pressure has not yet been adequately compensated by sufficient expansion. The dynamic nature of this problem makes it very challenging to solve. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to investigate the causes and effects and their dynamics of the increasing strain on transportation infrastructure in suburban municipalities. This research is necessary in order to determine what needs to be changed to reduce traffic congestion effectively. Moreover, this study assesses the expectations of commuters regarding mobility. It is essential to take their opinions into account, as they are a significant cause of traffic congestion. Therefore, they need to accept any implemented solution in order to ensure a high adoption rate. In the process, the dynamics of the system and the opinions of commuters result in conceptual solutions aimed at improving the traffic situation in the long term. The research involved conducting a single case study in a suburban municipality of the German city of Munich. In the course of this research, primary data was collected by means of a commuter survey and secondary data was also provided from an existing household survey. Moreover, empirical data was collected through a literature review as well as from numerous recognised online sources. The causes and effects of traffic dynamics were analysed by considering traffic as a system using Systems Thinking and System Dynamics methodology. The interrelated variables were visualised by creating a Causal Loop Diagram and drawing conclusions from it. In addition, conceptual solutions were developed by reviewing the works of previous researchers and taking into account the results from the System Dynamics analysis. The results of the commuter survey also played a crucial role in ascertaining the commuting habits and expectations of commuters regarding the transportation infrastructure. The analysis of the Causal Loop Diagram revealed that in order to reduce traffic congestion, road expansion alone is not a viable solution due to rebound effects, which eventually result in increased car use and hence more traffic congestion. Therefore, in order to solve the problem in the long term, car use needs to be reduced to a significant degree. This can be achieved by implementing various solutions to nudge people towards using alternative modes of transport. Various pricing techniques such as free public transport are a possible method of approaching this topic. Furthermore, improving public transportation services and infrastructure using digitalisation and centralising various alternative modes of transport are among a number of appropriate ways of effectively reducing the traffic congestion problematic studied in this project. Hereby, the method of Change Management, usually used within organisations, can be applied to change the behaviour of society