Can we become car-free in just one month? Evidence from Switzerland

• We estimate the short-term effects of a one-month trial to reduce car use and ownership. • The trial provided voluntary participants with one month of free e-bike, public transport and car-sharing use. • After the trial, 36 % of the participants reported lower intention to frequent car use. • And 2 % became car-free households. Two months later, under additional monetary incentives, 13 % sold a car. • In the short-term, partial substitution effects occurred. Fast and large-scale car-freedom requires additional measures. We analyse a mobility trial performed in 2024 in the Swiss city of Winterthur: voluntary participants were invited not to use their car for one month, and provided with free access to e-bikes, public transport, and car-sharing. Using a mixed-methods pretest-posttest design based on surveys ( n = 257 ) and focus groups ( n = 43 ), we estimate the short-term effects on car use intention and car ownership. The trial mostly attracted individuals already into the transition to “car-freedom”. It reduced frequent car use intention in 36 % of the participants, with greater effect (54 %) in those at early transition phases. It also reduced car ownership, though limitedly: immediately after the trial 2 % of the households became car-free. Two months later, car-free households increased to 13 %, also thanks to generous municipal car-selling incentives. Our results strengthen the findings by recent trials, suggesting partial substitution effects between car and its alternatives.