This research project aims to optimize combined mobility in order to reach its full potential in the transport of passengers in the different Swiss regions.
Why are we mobile? How do we choose to move around in order to accomplish our daily activities? Are there alternatives to the use of the private car outside the city centers in Switzerland? To answer these questions, PostBus Switzerland Ltd. has launched a research project with EPFL. Jointly conducted by Professors Vincent Kaufmann (LASUR), Michel Bierlaire (TRANSP-OR) and Martin Schuler (CEAT), this four-year research project aims to show the market potential for combined mobility, especially within agglomerations, taking into account the factors that influence travellers in their choice of transport.
Major intermediate results show that there is much untapped potential in trips for shopping and leisure, and needs are also high regarding direct services to major destinations such as city centers and rail stations. New perspectives thus open up for innovative PostBus services able to better answer these needs.
An in-depth 4-year research project to optimize the offer in combined mobility was commissioned by the swiss company PostBus Switzerland Ltd. It aims to better understand the mobility practices of current and potential PostBus customers living in the peripheries of cities. To this end, three laboratories are working together within the framework of TRACE.
Innovative tools in sociology, geography and mathematical modeling are thus combined to offer new transport services in line with today’s mobility needs. The analysis of complex trip chaining processes – or combined mobility – is at the heart of this research.
| Principal investigator | Prof. Vincent Kaufmann |
|---|---|
| Project managers | Prisca Faure / Anne Curchod |
| Sponsor | La Poste |
| Period | 2009-2012 |
| Laboratories | LASUR, TRANSP-OR, CEAT |
| Collaboration | TRACE |