But fewer trucks

Car traffic on highways has increased significantly

Particularly in the conurbation south of Vienna, there are many cars on the Südautobahn and the A21.

(Bild: Huber Patrick/P. Huber)

For many people, not only their own four walls are part of the dream of freedom, but even more so their own four wheels. 

Car traffic increased at almost all measuring points on freeways and expressways between Enns and Leitha in the past year. It is doubtful whether this was only due to the long closure of the Westbahn route after the devastating floods in September. Even if experts from the Verkehrsclub (VCÖ) expect the reopening of the fast train connection to relieve "some roads. However, this year there is the threat of another week-long closure of the western route in order to finally repair the damage caused by the flood disaster.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Traffic hell at the gates of Vienna
The busiest section of road in Lower Austria is the A 2 in the district of Mödling. More than 46.5 million cars were counted near Biedermannsdorf in the first ten months of last year alone. In contrast to the national trend, heavy goods traffic also increased slightly here (see chart). 3.9 million trucks thundered past the counting point. The southern outskirts of Vienna remain the traffic hub of the eastern region: 24.7 million cars and almost 3.1 million trucks on the A 21 near Brunn am Gebirge and 18.9 million cars and 3.3 million trucks on the S 1 near Vösendorf are proof of this.

Fewer trucks near St. Pölten
The A 22 near Langenzersdorf, the Westautobahn near St. Pölten and the A 4 near Schwechat Airport also play in this league - around 20 million passenger cars. However, with the exception of the Danube embankment highway, truck traffic has decreased on all of these sections. Although small, the highest decrease was recorded on the A 1 near the provincial capital at 3.8 percent.

The traffic load from trucks on highways and expressways has decreased slightly in Lower Austria.

(Bild: Huber Patrick/Patrick Huber)

Car growth often over ten percent
However, the number of cars has increased by double-digit percentages in many places - around 14 percent on the S 6 near Natschbach, district of Neunkirchen, or even 14.5 percent on the S 33 near Pottenbrunn near St. Pölten. 11.4 million cars (up 10.4 percent) were also on the A 3 near Ebreichsdorf in the district of Baden by the end of October, as were 11.4 million (up 2.9 percent) on the Nordautobahn near Eibesbrunn in the district of Mistelbach.

So-called Bus Rapid Transit systems are already being used successfully around the world. The aim here is to use the highways to offer a fast, space-saving public mobility service for those who do not have a train nearby. Express bus services are particularly suitable for commuter traffic.

Katharina Jaschinsky, VCÖ

Express buses on the emergency lane
"The increase in car traffic is not a law of nature," emphasizes Katharina Jaschinsky. The mobility expert from the VCÖ sees express bus routes with their own lane on freeways in conurbations as a counter-model: "Around 50 cars can be replaced per bus." A pilot project is currently being planned in the greater Graz area, where buses can use the emergency lane in the event of a traffic jam.