The impact of information and communication on public transport safety

In Germany, about 10 billion public transport rides are made every year. Passengers expect a high level of security in vehicles and at stops. However, the perceived security of passengers not only depends on objective safety, which is still high in comparison with other means of transport and life situations. 

Due to this discrepancy between actual and perceived security, we are investigating the effects of information and communication on passengers’ feeling of security. Hereby we include different types of communication such as information and communication messages by public transport operators, media coverage, and the use of mobile devices during the journey. 

Based on an extensive content analysis, a representative survey, a panel study with mobile experience sampling, experiments on the effects of campaign messages, and expert interviews we develop recommendations for communication activities of public transport operators. 

Our research is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany. 

Cooperation partners: University of Bremen, Free University Berlin, Technische Hochschule Wildau, Fraunhofer Institut für Offene Kommunikationssysteme FOKUS, Deutsche Bahn AG 
Involved Persons: Thomas Friemel, Dennis Reichow