{"id":105202,"date":"2025-04-23T13:49:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=105202"},"modified":"2026-01-01T16:05:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T22:05:29","slug":"viennas-public-transit-works-for-the-environment-but-not-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/viennas-public-transit-works-for-the-environment-but-not-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Vienna\u2019s public transit works for the environment \u2014 but not for everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Layna Hong<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

VIENNA – At the heart of one of the world\u2019s most livable<\/a> cities is an expansive and efficient public transit system, one that has become a global model for sustainable urban mobility.<\/p>\n

Car usage has steadily decreased since 2005, due to the city\u2019s concentrated efforts. Sustainable mobility is a key strategy in Vienna\u2019s goal to become carbon-neutral by 2040. In 2022, only 1 in 4 people chose to use a car to get around Vienna, according to city data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the Vienna U-Bahn may not be accessible for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s one problem, and that\u2019s a problem that is always very apparent in Austria,\u201d said Denis Can Teoman, Ph.D., a professor of urban design at Monash University in Indonesia. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t account for immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teoman\u2019s research on immigrant travel behavior in Vienna<\/a> found immigrants from the Middle East and former Yugoslavia in general drive more compared to Austrians without an immigration background. He suggested one reason immigrants might not ride the U-Bahn is because of lack of access.<\/p>\n

When it comes to purchasing a public transit ticket, Turkish and Arabic aren\u2019t available as languages on Vienna\u2019s ticket machines as of February 2025, despite Turkish people being the second-largest non-Austrian population and Syrians being the fifth largest, according to city data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teoman was born and raised in Vienna with a Turkish immigrant father.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always very careful not to blame people for using cars,\u201d he said. \u201cImmigrants\u2019 lives in Vienna can be hard, so I understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across online forums, travel websites and the country\u2019s residents, Vienna\u2019s U-Bahn is often touted for how safe it is.<\/p>\n

But for immigrants, the experience can be very different.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Wiener Linien\u2019s ticket machines don\u2019t offer Turkish or Arabic.(Layna Hong \/ MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou see people from different cultures (on public transit), and this is also where people might receive discrimination if they look different to the white Austrians,\u201d Teoman said. \u201cUnfortunately, it can lead to tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, nearly 2,000 hate crimes were recorded by police in Vienna, according to a report from the Austrian government<\/a>. A fourth of these reports took place in public spheres like the street, parks and on public transit.<\/p>\n

Many of these reports reference Muslims and Black people as the main targets. Despite nearly half of Vienna\u2019s population having foreign origins<\/a>, Teoman said Austrians \u201cnever really see ourselves as an immigrant country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he doesn\u2019t believe Vienna will reach its climate goals due to a lack of understanding of its immigrant population.<\/p>\n

\u201cVienna\u2019s strategy in sustainability, it\u2019s amazing, if everyone could just sign off on everything theoretically, right?\u201d Teoman said.<\/p>\n

Public transit plays a key role in Vienna’s sustainability strategy. The city’s largest sustainability and infrastructure project is the planned expansion of the U2 and U5 train lines. In the Volkstheater train station, there’s a exhibition dedicated to educating the public about the expansion.<\/p>\n

On Susan Reger\u2019s way to a museum exhibit, she decided to stop by the Infocenter U2xU5 for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trains are OK in Austria, but in Vienna, they\u2019re special,\u201d Reger said.<\/p>\n

Reger relies on public transit to get around the city. The 74-year-old is a Vienna native and lives in Alsergrund, the 9th district, where she said there\u2019s at least seven public transit stops near her. This is one reason she sold her car 25 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t use it (the car),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Reger said you can get anywhere in Vienna by public transportation, and the U2xU5 expansion would expand the Wiener Linien’s system by creating 12 new underground stations. In the 5th district, Margareten, 55,000 residents will have their own underground station for the first time.