Skip to main content

Cross-border public transport

A recent cross-border study by PTV and transport consultant ProgTrans in the tri-national Eurodistrict Basel (TEB), which has borders with Germany and France, examined ways in which public transport could be strengthened in the region and the need to make the most of mobility options.
September 18, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A recent cross-border study by 3264 PTV and transport consultant 7501 ProgTrans in the tri-national Eurodistrict Basel (TEB), which has borders with Germany and France, examined ways in which public transport could be strengthened in the region and the need to make the most of mobility options.

Transport experts explored and evaluated a set of measures aimed at providing an alternative to the car and improving the availability and range of public transport options, including connections. New cross-border tram connections and the implementation of parking options for cars and bicycles at suburban railway stations in the region were also included.

In order to give an overview of the cross-border mobility options, traffic counts and surveys were carried out for cross-border traffic. Mobility behaviour relating to households, source and destination traffic for individual motorised traffic and public transport, as well as the use of park and ride (P+R) and bike and ride systems (B+R) was obtained, showing that there are more than 150,000 border crossings per day to Switzerland alone.

"One of the greatest hurdles for the new public transport concept can be identified as the construction of the core components and the implementation of the regional suburban railway network", clarifies project engineer Dr Birgit Dugge.

To verify the effectiveness of measures, an existing transportation forecasting demand model was integrated into a PTV Visum model with updated availability data and information relating to the enquiry to produce a forecast of the effect of the various measures on local transport.

A list of measures was derived from the results, which were likely to have a positive effect on the demand for cross-border public transport. In addition to the predictions, an estimate was carried out regarding future demand for P+R as well as B+R spaces in stations in France and Germany.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Meeting the challenges of smartcard fare payment
    July 4, 2012
    David Crawford monitors a growing trend in contactless smartcard ticketing The north east United States has become a hive of activity in the smart fare payment arena. In October 2011, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) published, as a preliminary to an imminent procurement process, the detailed concept of its New Fare Payment System (NFPS). Based on open payment industry standards, this is designed to be implemented on all MTA bus and subway services operated by New York City Transit (
  • Sandra Phillips of Movmi: ‘We’re all trying to get people moving without a car’
    April 30, 2021
    Movmi founder Sandra Phillips talks to Adam Hill about why transport integration is sometimes a matter of trust – and how to empower women in transportation
  • Learning from informal transit networks
    March 30, 2021
    When it comes to public transportation, the Minority World could take lessons in equity from the mobility infrastructure of emerging market cities, says Devin de Vries of WhereIsMyTransport
  • Major European project for safer cycling
    November 8, 2016
    A major EU project is studying ways of facilitating the interaction between cyclists and motorists with the help of technical aids in order to reduce the risk of accidents. Project Xcycle, which involves researchers from six European countries, aims to find ways of achieving greater equality for cyclists in traffic, encouraging more cycling, and making travel by bicycle safer. The Swedish Road and National Transport Research Institute (VTI) is a major player in the project and are responsible for evaluating