AffordableAccessibility - How much accessibility can we afford

Germany's transport infrastructure is increasingly plagued by congested motorways and unreliable trains. This situation is expected to worsen due to ineffective im-provement strategies, budget constraints, and growing travel demand, threatening the system's core function of providing access to amenities, activities, and markets. Such access is vital for societal productivity and social capital. Germany faces a di-lemma: accept reduced social capital from diminished accessibility or increase transport investment at the cost of other essential sectors like education, health, and security, or through debt. This Ph.D. project, AffordableAccessibility, addresses this dilemma by examining the extent to which society can or wants to afford accessibility improvements and whether there is diminishing additional benefit (marginal utility) from such im-provements. Key steps include understanding public valuation of accessibility, es-timating willingness to pay for enhancements or to prevent further deterioration, and applying these insights to a case study. The results will offer valuable guidance for policymakers in evaluating and prioritizing transport investments.