Mobility package for new citizens of Aachen

 

Background:

Several studies have shown that significant changes in life (such as moving or retiring) often result in behaviour changes, including in the choice of transport mode. People in these situations are more likely to respond to soft policy measures, which means that information and incentives regarding changes are more likely to be noticed and used.

Public transport marketing is more successful when it takes the needs and expectations of the target group into account as well as situational and spatial starting points.

Against the background of the promising approaches for marketing addressed to new citizens, the city of Aachen wants to continuously improve offers for new citizens. In this context, new scientific findings are to be tested and put in practice in Aachen.

Aims of the project:

The campaign aimed to improve new citizens’ knowledge of public transport and car sharing in Aachen, to motivate them to use public transport – thus reducing the share of those not using public transport – and to increase occasional public transport use. The study accompanying the campaign evaluated the effect of the mobility package for new citizens of Aachen by using public transport share, share of season ticket owners, and money spent on public transport as indicators of success.

Project contents and structure:

The following steps were taken to implement new scientific findings in Aachen’s new citizen marketing and to assess their effect:

  • Consulting on the conception of the mobility packages for new citizens
  • Supplying schedule information tailored to the new citizens’ address for the first and second trial month
  • Developing the evaluation concept and a questionnaire for a written household survey evaluating two approaches of new citizen marketing via a control group design
  • Evaluating the survey
  • Summing up the results in a report

Project duration:

February 2009 – August 2009

Project partner:

Institute of Urban and Transport Planning, RWTH Aachen University

Practice partners:

Dezernat für Planung und Umwelt der Stadt Aachen
ASEAG
AVV
Cambio Aachen

Contacts at the ISB:

Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Hebel, Dr.-Ing. Conny Louen, Reyhaneh Farrokhikhiavi, M.A.