Project extension
Initially the project was planned for three years, current developments in different areas have unfortunately delayed the progress within the project.
For developments in the field of tariffing we had to wait on national decisions, for a planned ticketing project the development partners from outside of the EMR area were necessary and this required a national funding. Also, in the field of electric buses the technical development had an influence on the project and the implementation as initially planned is not possible anymore.
In early 2020 the partners have handed in a change request for an extension of the project. When finalizing the change request, it became clear, that the Corona pandemic will have an impact on the project. Interreg offered an additional extension of 6 months to all projects. The change request was approved, so the project is extended until March 2022 and the planned activities can be implemented.
2nd Joint Project Study
„Cross-border Mobility and Public Transport Usage“ in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine: After two planned cross-border student events in March (‘EMR Atelier International 2.0’, ‘Euregional PIN-Game’) had to be cancelled because of the corona crisis, the ‘Joint Project Study 2.0’ under the direction of Henrik Basche (RWTH Aachen) took virtually place between 3rd April and 25th June.
Overall, seven students from University of Hasselt and six students from RWTH Aachen University participated in this seminar and investigated ‘Cross-border Mobility and Mental Distance in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine’ empirically.
Corresponding results were digitally presented on 25th June to practical partners from Aachener Verkehrsverbund and the Ministry of the German-speaking Community. One striking result was e.g. the correlation between age and ‘mental distance’: The older inhabitants in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine are, the more attached they feel to the capitals of the five sub-regions (Aachen, Eupen, Hasselt, Liège, Maastricht). Overall, 433 interviewees were surveyed online between 5th and 18th May.
Expansion of VeloCity
Short after the project’s start the first Velocity station in Parkstad Limburg was opened. Afterwards several new stations in Aachen and the surrounding municipalities were opened and the bikes were successfully developed further.
With the project budget, that cannot be used for the charging station the Velocity network within Parkstad Limburg will be expanded. With a funding amount of 700.000 Euro it is planned to build up a network, that improves the mobility within Parkstad as well as the cross-border mobility.
Bike-Ticket for the Euregio Maas-Rhine
Since 1.01.2020 a bike ticket is available, that is valid in the Euregio Maas-Rhine. The ticket costs 4 Euro and is available at all public transport operators in the Dutch and German part of the Euregio that allow the transport of bicycles in their trains and as a mobile Ticket via the App DB Navigator.
The ticket is also valid in Belgian SNCB trains, but the ticket is not sold in Belgium. In Belgium a Belgian bike ticket needs to be purchased, the ticket is also recognized in the Euregio, but is only valid for a single journey. When using the ticket, the existing limitations for the transport of bikes of the operator must be respected. The ticket simplifies exploring the Euregio Meuse-Rhine by bike, because only one ticket needs to be bought and is the perfect addition to the euregioticket.
A campaign for the ticket planned for the start of the cycling season 2020 had to be postponed to 2021 due to the Corona-Pandemic. Within Belgium bikes in public transport are free until 31.12.2020 but it is still required to get a (free) ticket from the ticket machine and restrictions for certain lines to the coast must be respected.
Schnelle Verbindung zwischen Aachen und Vaals
Aachen und sein niederländisches Umland wachsen näher zusammen: Ab dem Fahrplanwechsel am 15. Dezember wird die niederländische Buslinie 350 (Aachen Bushof – Maastricht) von Arriva im Stadtgebiet Aachen in den Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV) integriert. Mit dem Aufheben des bisher bestehenden Bedienverbotes im deutschen Binnenverkehr kann ab dem Fahrplanwechsel die Linie 350 auf dem deutschen Streckenabschnitt mit allen AVV-Tickets genutzt werden.
„Vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Klimadiskussion ist es sehr erfreulich, dass wir gemeinsam mit der Stadt Aachen eine Vereinbarung zwischen ASEAG und Arrivia erreichen konnten und Fahrgäste künftig von einer schnellen und attraktiven Verbindung zwischen Aachen und Vaals profitieren, von der wir uns auch neue Fahrgäste erhoffen“, so Hans-Peter Geulen, AVV-Geschäftsführer.
Auf der Linie 350 gilt bis zur Haltestelle Vaals Heuvel das gesamte AVV-Ticketsortiment. Außerdem wird die Linie 350 wird zur besseren Anbindung der Wohngegend Kullen zusätzlich an der Haltestelle Reutershag in Aachen halten.
Nach zwei Jahren sollen die entstehenden Effekte untersucht und über eine dauerhafte Lösung entschieden werden. Die Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der grenzüberschreitenden Verbindungen zwischen Aachen und der niederländischen Provinz Limburg werden über das EU-Förderprojekt „EMR Connect“ finanziert.
Euregio Summer School 2.0 – „Improving inclusive Mobility in the Digital Age“
After the full success of the 1st Euregio Summer School in September 2018, Euregional partners including the Chair of Economic Geography (RWTH Aachen University) conducted the Euregio Summer School 2.0 between the 9th and 14th September 2019 at six different locations in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine: Hasselt, Liège, Aachen, Kerkrade, Maastricht and Spa-Francorchamps.
Overall 36 students from PXL Hasselt, University of Hasselt, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences and RWTH Aachen University worked in international and interdisciplinary groups on different issues with regard to „Improving inclusive Mobility in the Digital Age“. As opposed to the 1st Euregio Summer School, the concrete challenges were posed by practical partners, i.a. the Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV). These dealt i.a. with the transformation of the loss-making public transport market into a profitable mobility market and the design of the office of the future.
The Euregio Summer School 2.0 had been organised by partners of the Interreg projects emr connect, EarlyTech and youRegion, who intend to continue this event format because of the distinctively positive experiences and feedbacks.
Photo: © Massimo Marigo/RTV Maastricht
Transport Think Tank (3T) – Workshop concerning „Shaping future cross-border mobility solutions“
Overall 24 participants with heterogeneous mobility-related backgrounds participated in the Transport Think Tank (3T) on the 26th August at Centre Céramique in Maastricht. Represented were inter alia the Provincie Limburg, the City of Aachen, Aachen’s transport authority (AVV), the EGTC Euregio Maas-Rhein, Achterhoek ambassadeurs and the e.GO Mobile AG.
The workshop designed in a World Café format followed the primary objective to network cross-border and mobility-relevant actors in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. In this regard, the participants discussed requisites and barriers concerning cross-border collaboration as well as their role regarding “Shaping future cross-border mobility solutions”.
The Transport Think Tank (3T) was organised by the academic partners from emr connect in collaboration with the “Institute for Euregional and Transnational cross border cooperation and Mobility“ (ITEM, Maastricht University).