Here we answer the most important questions!
Frequently Asked Questions about the current ‘Austria on the go’ (‘Österreich unterwegs’) study

The ‘Austria on the go’ (‘Österreich unterwegs’) mobility survey collects important data for mobility policy, planning and research. It provides important information about the mobility patterns of the population aged 6 and above, such as the distances they travelled and what means of transport they used. The data is then used for targeted analyses at all levels by the federal government and local authorities, but also by companies who operate in the transport infrastructure and mobility services sectors.

Participants were randomly selected from the Central Register of Residents (Zentrales Melderegister; ZMR) for the study. Households included in the sample will be contacted by us in writing or by telephone, if a publicly available telephone number is available. All inhabitants aged 6 and above from these households can participate in the study, although the consent of a legal guardian for anyone under the age of 14 is required to participate.

Yes, there is a barrier-free option to participate in the study by scheduling a personal survey with our interviewers. If you prefer this option, you can either make an appointment for a personal visit by calling +43 (0)800 88 22 11 or by emailing kontakt@oesterreich-unterwegs.com. Alternatively, you can simply wait for our first visit.

Access to the addresses of randomly selected households happens in two ways:

• Most of it comes from the Central Register of Residents (ZMR)
• A small proportion are substitute households (a randomly selected neighbouring household) if the originally selected household could not be reached.

Both procedures are based on Art. 6(1)(f) DSGVO. They are necessary for the performance of tasks that are in the legitimate interest of the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) and are permissible without consent.

The current ‘Austria on the go’ (‘Österreich unterwegs’) project is being led by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) in collaboration with the infrastructure operators Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungsgesellschaft (ASFINAG) and ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG (ÖBB INFRA).

A team of experienced and competent contractors has been commissioned to conduct the study, collect the data and analyse it. infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft coordinates all tasks. The interview team on site is supported by Triconsult from Vienna and Spectra from Linz. We also involve other partners such as Herry Consult from Vienna, who is responsible for the evaluation, as well as Motiontag and infas360.

Collection of the data from the random population sample selected from the Central Register of Residents (ZMR) at the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is based on the legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) DSGVO and stored until the end of the survey. The Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) has a legitimate interest in processing this data, as the BMIMI implements targeted measures associated with issues of public interest.

The legal basis for conducting the survey is the consent of the contacted people as outlined in Art. 6(1)(a) DSGVO. The guiding principles of comprehensible and complete information pursuant to Art. 13 and Art. 14 DSGVO also apply in that context.

Detailed data protection information can be found HERE.

After the written survey documents have been sent out, households will have the opportunity to actively respond. They can provide their current contact details and availability using the enclosed postcard or the website. Households can also indicate if they do not wish to participate in the study. This can also be done using the free postcard or online at www.osterreich-unterwegs.gv.at.

If the telephone number for a household is available as a result of an active call-back from the household or if it can be found in public registers, the households will be contacted by telephone to schedule a visit.

If it is not possible to contact them by telephone, the households are visited in person by an interview team representative after two weeks.

If the household has agreed to participate, the survey is conducted in several stages:

1. The households can complete a questionnaire section online about household characteristics (e.g. household size and composition, cars in the household) before the interview team visits. Households will receive the necessary access code with the letter sent by post.
2. An initial personal appointment will be arranged with one of our interviewers. Prior to the visit, personal consent to participate needs to be obtained from all individuals over the age of 13 who will attend the appointment. This will be followed by a personal survey with questions about mobility habits. For persons up to and including the age of 13, this will be completed by a legal guardian on their behalf. Alternatively, the personal surveys can also be conducted online after this appointment.
3. During the first visit by an interviewer, households will be given a specific reporting day on which all commutes by participants need to be recorded. At the same session, to make it particularly convenient for participants, our employees will give each participant who has agreed to this form of survey a smartphone to track their mobility. The smartphone should be taken with them on the reporting day so that it can automatically track their commutes. With the consent of their parents, this can also be done for children aged 6 and above. People who do not wish to use the smartphone for tracking will receive a mobility sheet to record the commutes and stages. It should be completed on the reporting day.
4. After the reporting day, the interviewer will visit you again and the recorded commutes will be reviewed and checked together on a digital map. Participants who did not carry a tracker should have recorded the routes by completing the mobility sheet. Where appropriate, the information can be transferred to the map with the interviewer or supplemented using a questionnaire. During the second visit, all issued smartphones will also be retrieved.

To make it as easy as possible for you to record your commutes, our interview team will provide a smartphone for each person aged 6 and above. Only the tracking app for ‘Austria on the go’ (‘Österreich unterwegs’) is installed on this smartphone, and tracking starts automatically at the beginning of your reporting day. You don’t need to do anything else. The smartphone is also fully charged when it is handed over. Normally, the battery charge will last until the end of the reporting day. However, to be on the safe side, you can charge the smartphone before the reporting day with the provided charging cable.

The smartphone transmits location data (GPS coordinates) and movement activity pre-evaluated by the smartphone (e.g. ‘motorised’ or ‘on foot’) to MOTIONTAG GmbH.

The following data is also transmitted:

• Time of localisation
• Geo-coordinates and accuracy (determined by the GPS chip)
• Acceleration values (determined by sensors in the mobile phone)
• Gyroscope values (determined by sensors in the mobile phone)
• Barometer/air pressure data (determined by sensors in the mobile phone)
• Magnetometer (determined by sensors in the mobile phone)
• Movement activity from the operating system
• Recognition reliability (confidence) of movement activity

After your reporting day, the interviewer will visit you again to go over your reporting day and the commutes you made. The interviewer will also retrieve the smartphone and accessories (e.g. charging cable) that were provided to you.

Accidental damage can happen to anyone. Participants are not liable for damage to the smartphones. If your smartphone breaks before the reporting date, please call our hotline at +43 (0)800 88 22 11 (toll-free, Mon–Fri: 8 a.m.–8 p.m. and Sat: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.).

To make the survey as convenient as possible for you, we provide you with a smartphone for GPS tracking. However, use of the smartphone is voluntary. If you do not wish to use GPS tracking via smartphone, our interview team will provide you with mobility sheets on which you can enter the routes and stages you travelled on the reporting day. Your routes and stages can then be recorded manually during the interviewer’s last visit after the reporting day.

All households or individuals to be surveyed will receive information about the study, including its objectives and topics, the selection of addresses and the data protection legal basis. This information also describes the voluntary nature of participating in the survey. Households and individuals will receive the information by post, from the interview team or via the website. Click here for the detailed Privacy Policy.

From a data protection perspective, once initial contact has been established, consent in the form of ‘informed consent’ is crucial. This forms the legal basis for the processing of your personal data. Without informed consent, participation in the study cannot take place. The first household survey is conducted by an adult member of the household as a proxy interview. Before the survey begins, this person agrees on behalf of all other household members to participate in the household interview and to the processing of the resulting data. This individual will also receive information about the options for revoking consent. This consent is either given in the presence of the interviewer during the first visit or, for online participation, by means of a query at the beginning of the online questionnaire.

For the personal surveys, all participating members of a household must individually agree to participate. This means that consent to participation and to the use of data, as well as acknowledgement of the options for revocation, is obtained by an interviewer in a personal appointment. Consent for children aged 6 up to and including 13 is given by a person with parental authority in the household. The personal surveys—and thus participation in the study—can only proceed after the interviewer has obtained consent.

The following data are specifically processed:

1. Registration data for the contact person for a household are randomly retrieved by the BMIMI from the Central Register of Residents (ZMR) at the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This query has already been carried out by a service provider.
2. Household data relates to information about a household (e.g. number of household members, number of cars, household income) that the surveyed person (also known as the respondent) provides themselves during the survey or as part of an online survey.
3. Personal data of a surveyed person in the household (e.g. age, educational information).
4. Mobility data refers to information relating to the personal mobility habits of a person in the household on the reporting date (e.g. purpose of a trip, transport means, etc.). Regular work-related commutes are also recorded as such, but without the occupational context or further information that would enable personal identification. The mobility data is either provided by the data subject in a personal survey or in the questionnaire. It can also be automatically collected using GPS tracking on a smartphone and reviewed on a digital map with the data subject during the survey.

As part of the personal surveys, we ask respondents aged 18 and over for information on special categories of personal data in compliance with Art. 9 DSGVO. This includes information on physical disabilities and any resulting mobility restrictions. Collecting this information allows us to assess the mobility needs and patterns of this group.

These ‘health characteristics’ in the broadest sense are treated as special categories of personal data in accordance with Art. 9 DSGVO. The prerequisite for processing this personal data is the consent of the data subjects in accordance with Art. 6(1)(a) DSGVO. For such characteristics, the legal regulation requires explicit consent to the collection of this special category of personal data.

Mobility data from smartphone tracking is also considered particularly sensitive. This data generates mobility patterns that may indirectly identify individuals. For data processing, the data is transmitted to BMIMI, ASFINAG and ÖBB INFRA without any direct reference to names (pseudonymised). It is possible to participate in the survey even without consenting to GPS tracking. To accommodate this preference, a mobility sheet is provided to record mobility on the reporting day in writing.