Experiencing Station Locations

Abstract

The station location is typically characterised by its dual nature as a semi-public piece of real estate. On the one hand, it is used by its owner to achieve its corporate objectives, also in terms of feasibility. On the other hand, it is a place which is accessible to all and serves the societal and urban needs in terms of transport, activities, encounters and many more. In current urban developments, these places in the city are changing rapidly. The concept of transit-oriented development describes the reason why this is happening. Due to the high demand for space in the city, the quest for available land often leads to places that are both available and well accessible. Station locations are examples of these places. Consequently, many new stakeholders are engaged in station location developments, but many rather often follow their own aims and objectives, and substantiate their decisions with own interpretations and assumptions. This leads to uncoordinated collaborations with conflicts of interests. This study wants to clear some of the air in this respect. However, from which perspective should one observe the station location to decide which elements deserve attention? The user has a central position in this regard. Most importantly, their demands should be taken into consideration in order to provide successful real estate. Therefore, this study positions the user of a station location as a central point of attention. More specifically, the definition of the user has been narrowed down to the traveller which encounters various elements at the station location during their door-to-door journey. The study is executed by reviewing thirty Dutch station locations and statistically compare them to each other and to the appreciation of travellers at those stations. As a result, critical elements at station locations have been identified that relate to the enhancement of the traveller experience. During station location development processes, the output of this research can be used by actors to get a clearer view on the demands by the main user. Stakeholders should always critically review this information and assess whether and to what extent their current real estate supply should be adjusted in order to meet these demands.