Mobility habits: how to act on our unconscious choices?

In Greater Geneva, 111 hours are lost each year in peak-hour congestion, according to TomTom Traffic Index 2024¹. A Swiss record. Yet the territory boasts one of Europe's most highly developed public transport networks, and employers and local authorities alike have multiplied initiatives in recent years.

The paradox is real. Congestion does not stem from supply alone: cross-border flows from the canton of Vaud and neighboring France, where some areas remain underserved, contribute substantially. Where supply is in place, however, the lever still to be activated lies no longer in infrastructure or budgets, but in behavior itself. Between 65% and 88% of daily behaviors are driven by the automatic system (the brain's intuitive mode, acting through habit without conscious reflection), at the expense of the reflective system (the slow, deliberate mode weighing the options)². Most schemes deployed nevertheless address the latter, through information, education and incentives. This gap explains why so many well-designed initiatives fall short of their ambitions.

When mobility habits resist: where to start?

Three mechanisms warrant activation to durably transform practices. The first concerns how the work environment shapes everyday choices, often unconsciously. A recent study on ZIMEYSAVER industrial zone (380 hectares straddling Meyrin, Satigny and Vernier, with capacity for 10,000 additional jobs) reveals that just over 50% of motorized workers in Greater Geneva enjoy free workplace parking³. This convenience turns a potentially deliberate choice into a daily routine. Many employers are starting to shift the lines, yet the implicit norm in many organizations remains the private vehicle, perceived as the simplest and most unconstrained option.

The second lever lies in timing. Campaigns are traditionally rolled out on fixed dates: European Mobility Week, back-to-school initiatives, car-free day. Behavioral sciences identify far more favorable moments, however, when receptivity to change runs three to five times higher⁴. Starting a new job, a site relocation, returning from parental leave, the launch of a new transport line. Greater Geneva’s public transport network is extensive and still expanding, with the Léman Express L7 line entering service in December 2025 and cross-border tram extensions in preparation, while the rotation of 130,000 cross-border workers opens windows that fixed-date schemes almost invariably miss.

The third lever concerns the social dimension. Seeing colleagues or management embrace a new behavior and finding satisfaction in it, remains one of the best-documented accelerators. When commitment comes from the top, the effect amplifies: visible leadership involvement triples the effectiveness of a mobility initiative⁵.

What European and Geneva-based initiatives teach us

At the European level, two countries have taken contrasting paths. In Belgium, the mobility budget allows staff with a company car to give it up in exchange for an annual allowance, redeemable against public transport, cycling, carsharing, or even relocating closer to the workplace. Since January 2026, company cars provided under this scheme must be exclusively zero-emission⁶. France has taken the incentive route: the sustainable mobility allowance enables employers to pay up to 900 euros a year to staff giving up their private car (an arrangement embraced by 29% of private employers in France), per the ADEME 2024 barometer⁷. The mechanisms differ, yet the underlying principle is shared: reshape the decision environment rather than win over individuals one by one.

At the Swiss level, PRO VELO Suisse's bike to work challenge exemplifies the strength of collective dynamics. In 2024, more than 109,000 participants from 3,840 organizations achieved a 73% modal share for cycling over the duration of the challenge, driven as much by camaraderie as by the modal stake⁸.

In Greater Geneva, two initiatives combine these lessons. The Déclic Mobilité program, run by Fondation Modus with support from the State of Geneva, invites volunteers to set aside their motorized vehicle for one month in exchange for a portfolio of solutions: public transport pass, electric bicycle, carsharing⁹. Tested in 2025 with 72 households, it expands in 2026 to 300 households. The results speak for themselves: 30% subscribed to a transport pass, 20% bought a bicycle, 15% gave up a vehicle. On a different scale, since February 2025, the municipalities of Meyrin, Satigny and Vernier have overhauled parking in the ZIMEYSAVER industrial zone: free on-street parking, previously allowed for up to 15 hours, is now capped at 3 hours, seven days a week¹⁰. The measure reshapes the decision environment territory-wide, supported by the rising momentum of the Léman Express, which has crossed 77 million passengers in five years with a 130% ridership increase between 2020 and 2024¹¹.

Activating these levers in Greater Geneva

For employers, several work strands emerge. Embedding sustainable mobility solutions into the welcome program for new hires, through direct financial contribution: coverage of the public transport pass, access to carsharing, soft-mobility allowance, rather than as options left to staff initiative. Evolving parking allocation toward a flexible system: assignment on request, positive incentives for staff reducing their use. Encouraging commuter carpooling tied to parking policy, a lever working better in organizations with fixed team hours. Personalizing messages according to behavioral profiles further amplifies their effectiveness by around 45%¹².

For local authorities, the challenge is to embed these levers in planning itself: parking dimensioning aligned with the public transport offer, accessibility of stops, continuity of cycling infrastructure, conditions set in municipal master plans and planning permissions. The opening of new neighborhoods provides a privileged window to offer residents solution trials or access to shared mobility infrastructure, in keeping with municipal mobility commissions (COMOB). Two reflexes complete the framework: targeting windows of opportunity rather than calendar dates and activating social momentum through ambassador programs. These directions align with the Cantonal Climate Plan 2030-2050, targeting a 60% reduction in emissions and a 40% reduction in private motorized traffic by 2030¹³.

Conclusion

The 65 to 88% of automatic decisions shaping daily mobility are not an obstacle to the transition, but a complementary lever, anchored in public transport as the backbone. The initiatives undertaken by employers and local authorities of Greater Geneva have laid the foundations. Behavioral sciences now enable the amplification of their effects, by targeting the actual mechanisms of decision-making.

It is precisely in this logic that the evomoov approach developed by tpg takes shape: an innovative ecosystem of solutions combining collaborative diagnosis, change support and multimodal solutions rooted in the territory.

To explore these mechanisms further, the white paper "Behavioral sciences: a lever for transforming mobility practices", with scientific direction by Professor Tobias Brosch (University of Geneva), provides a tool to move from reflection to action.

Download our white paper

Sources and references

1. TomTom, 2024, TomTom Traffic Index, Geneva. https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/city/geneva
2. Rebar, A. L., Vincent, G. E. et Gardner, B., 2025, How habitual is everyday life? An ecological momentary assessment study, Psychology & Health. https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/view/pdfCoverPage?instCode=44SUR_INST&filePid=13223855230002346&download=true
3. République et canton de Genève, 2026, Le grand projet ZIMEYSAVER. https://www.ge.ch/dossier/nouveaux-quartiers/grands-projets/zimeysaver (formulation exacte de la donnée stationnement à valider avec Emily Tombet).
4. Bamberg, S. et Schmidt, P., 2003, Choice of Travel Mode in the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Roles of Past Behavior, Habit, and Reasoned Action. https://czp.cuni.cz/images/stories/Vystupy/Seminare/2010%20Theory%20of%20Planned%20Behavior/Bamberg_Schmidt_2003.pdf
5. Kaufmann, V., 2021, Facteurs de succès des plans de mobilité, EPFL, LaSUR. https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lasur/ (URL précise de la publication à confirmer).
6. Partena Professional, 2026, What will change about mobility budget 2026?. https://www.partena-professional.be/en/our-insights/infoflashes/what-will-change-about-mobility-budget-2026
7. France Mobilités, 2024, Résultats du Baromètre Forfait Mobilités Durables, édition 2024. https://www.francemobilites.fr/outils/ressources/resultats-du-barometre-forfait-mobilites-durables-fmd-edition-2024
8. PRO VELO Suisse, 2024, Au vélo pour l'été : plus de 100'000 participants à bike to work en mai et juin 2024. https://www.pro-velo.ch/fr/pro-velo/actualites/article/auf-in-den-velosommer-ueber-100000-bike-to-work-teilnehmende-im-mai-und-juni-2024
9. Fondation Modus, 2026, Déclic Mobilité, printemps 2026. https://www.declic-mobilite.ch/
10. République et canton de Genève, 2026, Le grand projet ZIMEYSAVER. https://www.ge.ch/dossier/nouveaux-quartiers/grands-projets/zimeysaver
11. CFF, 2025, Léman Express : 5 ans de succès et nouvelle liaison pour Genève-Aéroport. https://news.sbb.ch/fr/019d7b77-4a20-799f-aaa3-eab5c4054946/leman-express-5-ans-de-succes-et-nouvelle-liaison-pour-geneve-aeroport
12. Dyson, P. et Sutherland, R., 2021, Transport for Humans: Are We Nearly There Yet?, London Publishing Partnership. https://londonpublishingpartnership.co.uk/transport-for-humans/
13. République et canton de Genève, 2026, Plan climat : en route vers la neutralité carbone. https://www.ge.ch/dossier/durabilite-climat/climat/plan-climat-route-neutralite-carbone
14. evomoov, 2026, Les sciences comportementales, levier de transformation des pratiques de mobilité, livre blanc publié le 17 mars 2026. https://www.evomoov.ch/ https://evomoov.ch/en/download-behavioral-science-white-paper