The mobility of the canton's "second city" under the microscope

No less than 25000 people travel between the University of Lausanne and EPFL in the week, making the two campuses the canton's second largest city in the daytime. In parallel with Mobility Week, a study based on surveys conducted over eight years is giving a new insight into commuter behavior. EPFL and the University of Lausanne form an integral part of the Lausanne-Morges urban area, attracting thousands to the campus every day by public transport, by car, on two wheels and even on foot. During term time, no less than 150000 kilometers are travelled by train and 83000 kilometers by car every day for EPFL. The annual mobility survey (Rumba) provides EPFL and the University of Lausanne with a vast repository of data concerning transport users. The urban and regional planning community (CEAT) has analyzed these results to give a new spatial representation of the campus commuting patterns. The maps help to determine the provenance of students and employees, the distances traveled and the modes of transport used, as well as how status, age and gender influence mobility-related behavior.