Less congestion on roads and parking lots, satisfied fans and CO2 savings: the PSV Direct lines were a success last season. The pilot of PSV and Brainport Bereikbaar will be extended next season. The buses bring fans at PSV home matches from Asten, Bladel, Eersel and Someren to the front door of the stadium and back.
Every home game, 35,000 PSV fans come to Philips Stadium. 60% of them travel by car. That's a total of 14,000 cars per match. Together they cause traffic jams and parking problems around the stadium. Those cars also emitCO2. Reasons enough for PSV to work together with Brainport Bereikbaar on travel alternatives and facilities. The pilot with the PSV Direct lines is part of this and will be extended to the coming season.
Social task
'As a leading football club, we not only want to give our fans a great experience every time. We also see it as our social responsibility to contribute to quality of life and well-being. An eye for sustainable mobility is a natural part of this. That is why last year, together with Brainport Bereikbaar, we started mobility projects such as bicycle promotion and the PSV Direct. The buses are a sustainable and pleasant means of transportation for fans from places where there is no train station, says Tom Ploegsma, Project Leader Mobility of PSV.
Positive reactions
Brainport Bereikbaar conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot. They looked at usage and collected reactions from both supporters and carrier Kupers. There was a lot of positive feedback. People thought the buses left on time, appreciated the pleasant journey and friendly bus driver, and liked the fact that the bus stops so close to the stadium. Many fans also indicated that it is nice to travel with fellow supporters. Both travelers and carrier are also happy that the buses are now allowed to use the bus lanes in the municipality of Eindhoven, which saves a lot of travel time.
Points of attention next season
Naturally, there are also points for improvement. Communication about departure times and boarding points could be improved, as could the speed of the bus. We worked hard on this during the previous pilot project and we will refine this in the coming pilot project. We also want to attract more users. That will also help to further solidify the relationship between costs and benefits. We are very confident that the extension of the pilot will lead to a sustainable and solid transport alternative for PSV.' The first home game on August 10 against RKC Waalwijk will see the buses running.