Overall twelve students from RWTH Aachen University, six from University of Hasselt and one from Maastricht University participated in the 1st Joint Project Study and investigated “Cross-border Mobility and Public Transport Usage” in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine under the direction of Henrik Basche (RWTH Aachen University) empirically.
With special organisational support from Arriva Nederland and ASEAG nearly 200 public transport users were surveyed in Dutch, English and German in the following cross-border lines: 14 (Aachen – Eupen), 34 (Diepenbenden – Kerkrade), 44 (Aachen – Heerlen), 350 (Aachen – Maastricht), 20a (Maastricht – Hasselt, De Lijn), 45 (Hasselt – Maastricht, De Lijn) and RE18 (Aachen – Maastricht).
The highlight of the 1st Joint Project Study were the student presentations about the empirical results which were held in front of the emr connect consortium in the government building of the Provincie Limburg in Maastricht on the 24th May. The students reported i.a. on mobility patterns (incl. attitude towards cashless payment, frequency of cross-border mobility) and mental distance (in this case: feeling of closeness to cities in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine) with regard to the interviewees’ sociodemographic and regional background.
Due to the very positive experiences with the 1st Joint Project Study it is very likely that the second Euregional project study (label: “Joint Project Study 2.0”) will take place in the summer term 2020.