In its original form, the Student Pass, for free public transport in The Netherlands for all students aged 18 to 27, was effective during the calendar years 1991-94. Negotiations began in April 1993 about a new, more restricted and more complicated scheme, to operate from 1995 on. This paper describes the new scheme, which has a Weekday Pass and a Weekend Pass, discusses the results of some relevant research studies, and considers the lessons learned. The research investigated: (1) students' travel behaviour before and after the new scheme's introduction; (2) differences in modal splits for the old and new schemes; (3) differences in response between students with Weekday and Weekend Passes; (4) possible changes with respect to car ownership, bicycle ownership, licence holding, car ownership, and place of residence; and (5) the main differences in travel demands and trip patterns between students with Weekday and Weekend Passes. Between 1994 and 1995, the number of journeys per student per week decreased by 2% and the distance travelled decreased by 5%, but public transport journeys decreased by 12.5%. Changes in modal split were public transport (41.3% to 37.0%), urban public transport (12.7% to 10.3%), bicycle (30.9% to 33.5%) and car (21.5% to 24.1%). Regional transport changes were different.
Abstract