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According to a study by various Universities in Switzerland, the individual pricing of all cost of mobility could lower the economic costs for traffic. Through the payment of extern costs, like air pollution, people would choose better routes or change the means of transport, whereby the costs for the national economy could decline.

This experiment was the biggest study of the world of this kind. Dates from 3700 persons where evaluated. Various Universities, like the University of Basel and ETH Zurich, where involved. The data of people who live in metropolitan areas were examined. The conclusion is that mobility pricing can lower the national costs for traffic by 5.1 percent.

During exploration, three groups of people where compared. The first one has added information about their mobility behavior to a smartphone app. Then they informed about ways to improve their mobility. The people in the second group have gotten a deposit from which the respective costs, including external costs, were deducted when using the means of transport. The third group received no information and no credit.

As part of the study, these groups were compared in how they changed the mobility behavior. As the result, only the people from the second group have changed their mobility behavior. The people of the first group, who only got information provided, have not changed their behavior. For this reason, it can be concluded. that mobility pricing influences the mobility behavior.

This study brings interesting facts about the possibilities to influence the traffic behavior. At first it shows that the technology enables mobility pricing. With the use of mobility pricing, traffic flow can be enhanced, and people would use to avoid traveling during rush hours. The measure could thereby have an impact to the environment protection. This will be particularly evident in cities, where mobility pricing can lead to better air quality in cities, which will also have a positive impact to people’s health.