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Although more people are on the move than a year ago, the obligation to work from home still has an impact.
The Hardbrücke is a familiar place for commuters in the greater Zurich area as a hub for many S-Bahn connections, numerous buses and a tram line. In this sense, the Hardbrücke train station is an ideal place to identify changes in the behavior of public transport users.
Legend:
Hardbrücke station includes important tram, bus and S-Bahn lines. They connect the industrial district and many workplaces with residential areas within Zurich and the agglomeration.
Keystone/Archive
This shows that the number of passengers is around 80 percent of the normal level, as Peter Moser explains. The deputy head of the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich says: “I’m relatively sure that the missing 20 percent have to do with the home office requirement from December 20th.”
Obligation to work from home apparently still works
However, the number of passengers has not fallen as much as during the shutdown a year ago, when it fell to about 60 percent of normal levels. “Back then, not only was there a home office requirement, but many shops also had to close,” says Moser. Accordingly, this staff also stayed at home at the time.
Another observation is interesting: According to the Zurich survey, passenger numbers in public transport have been increasing again since the end of the Christmas holidays. The reports that the omicron variant is usually milder have certainly contributed to this.
A sign of normalization?
Today – unlike a year ago – many people have been vaccinated, and there are also significantly fewer hospitalizations than a year ago and fewer deaths, according to Moser, who is responsible for the analysis.
“That’s why I also assume that this normalization trend will continue in the coming weeks.”
If the Federal Council lifts the obligation to work from home in the near future or reduces it to a recommendation, the number of passengers on public transport in Zurich and elsewhere will continue to rise.