Good things happen on the street when . . .

Good things happen on the street when the leading edge of the research, academic and NGO community in a city -- who themselves are up to world standard -- line up with the politicos.  And bad things  -- very bad things -- happen when the planning, investment and infrastructure decisions are made without respect to the experience and all that has been learned, tested and proved in the last decades at leading edge. (Now how hard is THAT?)

And here is how it is working out in four Swiss towns and cities.  How does it look in your city?

Mode choice in four Swiss agglomerations:  The Shift

"Typologie et évolution des logiques de choix modal chez les actifs motorisés urbains". By Sébastien Munafò, Derek Christie, Stéphanie Vincent Geslin, Vincent Kaufmann. Geneva, Nov. 2012

 This project aims to identify potentials for modal shift towards public transport and non-motorised modes in the urban areas of Geneva, Lausanne and Bern. Seventeen years after a first study carried out in these same cities, the study will investigate the evolution of demand and the effects of the significant improvements that have occurred on the supply side regarding transport modes alternative to the private car. Have these investments actually modified attitudes and behaviour around the different transportation modes?

A typology of the different motives, opinions and stances towards mobility that drive modal choice will thus be established. In addition, and for the first time, a longitudinal comparison will be established between the first study and the present study, in order to grasp the changes wrought by public action, namely the extension of the offer, towards changes in behavior and perceptions of the different modes.

The present study will also focus more closely on active modes (namely cycling), since these have been markedly on the rise since 2000 and their encouragement is actively pursued within the framework of the Scheme of the Agglomerations Projects launched by the Swiss Confederation.

In this study and for the first time as well, the medium-sized town of Yverdon-les-Bains (Canton Vaud) will also be investigated. Indeed, this kind of urban unit faces increasing challenges regarding transport and mobility. Thus the methodology has been adapted for a better fitting of this urban scale.

This study, conducted jointly with the Observatoire Universitaire de la Mobilité at the University of Geneva, was commissioned by the Canton of Geneva, Transports Publics Genevois (TPG), Canton of Vaud, Transports Publics de la Région Lausannoise (TL), and the City of Lausanne.

* Final report (in French): here

* Summary report (also in French): here

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