Month 1 – Month 3 – Preparatory phase
In the first three months, preliminary research will be done to develop the interview guidelines and the travel diary format. Additionally, a recruitment campaign will be started to recruit the 12 participants in the project through social media, the network of Mobilise, and the project partner STIB/MIVB.
As part of the recruitment strategy, a public launch event is also planned during the mobility week in September 2023. Recruitment will be done in three languages (French, Dutch, and English) to maximize the reach of the campaign.
UTL team members will visit VUB Mobilise for the preparatory work and project launch.
Month 4 – Month 8 – Campaign phase
In the second phase, participants will be invited for the pre-campaign interview. The interviews aim to assess their current lifestyle, experience with travel in general and with public transport in particular.
They will then be provided with a 1-month Brupass subscription and will be asked to keep a semi-structured travel diary of their travel experiences of 4 non-consecutive days within the 1-month experience period. During the experience period, follow-up interviews will be held with the participants to gain insights into their experience of public transport use.
Participants who are willing will also be asked to create social media posts or other creative media (photography, essays, etc.) about their experience, that will be shared on the social media accounts of the Urban Transit Lab, Mobilise, and STIB/MIVB.
The post-campaign interviews will also be held after participants finish their month of public transport subscription to reflect on their overall experience and perceptions.
During this second phase, participants will also be invited to participate in an informal after-work roundtable, to exchange with each other on their experiences in the project.
Month 9 – Month 12 – Analysis & dissemination
In the third phase of the project, the results of the travel diaries and the interviews will be analyzed (content analysis) to answer the research questions. The results will be documented in a series of online media posts (blog, essay, images), as well as an academic publication (e.g. in Brussels Studies).
A final event is planned during the mobility week in September 2024 together with the participants and the stakeholders involved. At this event, an exhibition of participant created media on posters and reflections by researchers and stakeholders on the project experience will be organised. Leaflets of project results will be produced. (September 2024)
Conclusions will be drawn in terms of the feasibility of the project setup for further outroll across Europe in the framework of Urban Transit Lab.
UTL team will visit VUB Mobilise for the finalisation of the project