The report "Environment Switzerland 2018" from the Federal Office for the Environnment (FOEN) was very good. In particular, there were very interesting chapters on nutrition, housing and mobility. In the mobility chapter, a figure showed the development of consumer prices for public transport (PT) and motorised individual transport (MIT) compared to household income (Figure 21, p.72).
Quotes from the report:
"Public transport (PT) prices have risen more sharply than disposable income since 2000. Motorised individual transport (MIT) prices, by contrast, have risen less sharply and have even fallen in recent years."
"MIT has increased by 25% since 2000, PT by 56% and non-motorised transport by 23% (...) Passenger transport demand is to a certain extent determined by price. Consumer prices for PT rose by 36% between 2000 and 2017, while they fell by 4% for MIT on roads.
I've extended the analysis after 2017, until 2025:
It can be seen that the consumer price of public transport has stabilised and that that of MIT has increased with the COVID pandemic and is now decreasing since 2022. Household income has declined with the pandemic, but the pre-COVID trend has now resumed.
If we look at the detailed consumer prices for MIT, we can see that the maintenance and repair of vehicles follows the same trend as for public transport, i.e. growth faster than that of household income. The purchase of a car is becoming less and less important in the household budget. Spare parts and accessories followed the same decreasing trend but we observe a decoupling since 2022. The price of fuel varies much more. It has risen sharply since the pandemic, peaking in 2022.
In terms of public transport, there is no major difference between long-distance and regional transport. The consumer price of international public transport has risen sharply since 2021, the first year in which this information was collected separately. In 2025, it is more similar to the prices of domestic trains.
In order to support the modal shift from road to rail, the purchase price of cars should probably be higher.