“My university in Ancona, Italy, has a huge parking place for students, just like every Italian university,” says Lorenzo Buongarzone, a master's student of International Business. “We have a three-floor parking building that can take about 200 cars. Students pay 50 to 60 euros a year. If you enter early, at 8:30, you will always find a place. You can’t leave the car there overnight.” The extra 100 places in Randwijck, won’t solve the problems, Buongarzone tells us. “But it’s a first step.” Taking the bus or the train is often no option, he thinks: “What if you come from a city that has no train or bus connection?”
“Once in a while, I take the bus to Aachen. It’s very expensive. One or two years ago we had to pay 3 euros, now it’s 5 euros for a return ticket”, says Anja Seling, a German master's student of European Law School who doesn’t have a car. “I don’t need a return ticket. I go to Aachen in the weekend to take the train to Cologne.” Since the bus has changed its route, travelling time has become more than an hour, Seling explains. “In the past, it was 45 minutes. By car it takes only half an hour. I often travel with others by car. It’s cheaper and faster.”
If there were a fast rail connection between Maastricht and Aachen, Seling might consider taking the train. “It would be a good alternative, but a car is still cheaper when you travel together.” And what does she think about the extra parking places in Randwijck? It will help solve the problems, but “most German students study in the centre of town. They need a bus or a bike to get there. That’s troublesome.”
The Dutch master's student of International Laws, Frouke Heringa, thinks the extra parking places can be a solution. Or a beginning of a solution. “I don’t think you can ‘force’ people, or maybe I should say make people take the train or the bus. It won’t work if you don’t have a good alternative.” That is: “A fast and direct rail connection.” The one that exists now (travelling time one hour) doesn’t fit into that category.