Vienna's transport transition: car bet wins the mobility prize!

Vienna's transport transition: car bet wins the mobility prize!

On September 25, 2025, the Oden Theater took place VCÖ Mobility Prize awarded, which this year had the motto “Future fit for the city and country”. A total of 363 projects from all over Austria were evaluated by an expert jury and offered exciting insights into innovative mobility concepts.

Particularly pleasing: Five projects from Vienna impressed the jury in various categories and won top-class awards. In the “Walking and Cycling” category, the City of Vienna secured first place with its cycling offensive 2021 – 2025, which includes almost 100 kilometers of new cycling infrastructure and greenery. The award from the planning office 3.0 Landschaftsarchitektur for the redesign of Praterstrasse in the “Traffic Calming and Climate Change Adaptation” category is also exciting.

Viennese innovative spirit

In the “Concepts and Ideas” category, Fabian Seiser and his team shined with a project that included A4 signs to raise awareness of obstacles for people with visual and mobility impairments. Furthermore, Wiener Linien's car bet was convincing in the “Sharing and Multimodality” category, in which 37 households gave up their car keys and used public transport instead. With a monthly mobility budget of 500 euros, they were able to drastically reduce expenses from an average of 500 to 340 euros.

The project of 23 architecture students from TU Wien, who successfully transformed Galileigasse into a pedestrian zone and thus contributed to the promotion of a child-friendly transport infrastructure, received another award. Overall, this variety of projects shows how much Vienna is looking for sustainable solutions for urban life.

A look at the numbers

The experience gained as part of the car bet is impressive. Almost half of the participants are considering getting rid of their car permanently. In Vienna, 47 percent of households are already car-free. It also shows that the number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Austria increased from 503 in 2004 to 569 in 2024, while in Vienna the value fell from 404 to 363.

Like from the VCÖ website reports, the car bet is not only an example of innovative mobility approaches, but is also scientifically supported by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. The tracking data is used to analyze mobility behavior, which is of great importance for future projects and recommendations.

The district leader of Währing, Silvia Nossek, emphasizes the increased quality of life, less noise and better air through fewer cars on the streets. The VCÖ Mobility Prize Austria This year not only recognized the Viennese projects, but also awarded the nationwide overall victory to the Styrian Transport Association, which successfully implemented regional bus connection security.

Overall, it can be said that Vienna is a true pioneer in sustainable mobility with its innovative projects. Promoting creative solutions and significant improvements demonstrates not only the city's determination, but also the commitment of its citizens to an environmentally conscious future.