Switzerland is known for its seamlessly operating railway system – you wonder why?
These questions, among many others, were addressed during the 25th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), held during May 14 – 16, 2025, in the scenic venue of Ascona with magnificent views overlooking Lago di Maggiore. Research all across Switzerland, from ETH/UZH Zurich, University of Basel, and EPFL Lausanne, including practitioners from Swiss Federal Railway (SBB), convened together to present and discuss ongoing research related to transportation.
As visiting research student at EPFL, Marcel was also given the opportunity to present his preliminary research design for his third and final PhD study which assesses EV workplace commuters’ willingness to adopt/accept (WTA) various smart charging strategies. Using stated preference (SP) data from a large-scale multi-country discrete choice experiment (DCE), the study will assess to what extent digital skills and competencies, measured as latent variable, can serve as predictors for EV users’ WTA. DCEs are commonly deployed for studying and predicting consumers’ behaviours and choices, with SP data wherever revealed preference (RP) data from the real world is not available yet, given the innovative nature of the new technology. Marcel’s study aims to inform firms’ policy making in preparation to the large roll-out of EV chargers in the workplace setting.
Special thanks to the organisers of the conference, most importantly Evangelos Paschalidis, Postdoctoral researcher at TRANS-OR EPFL, for ensuring that the conference runs smoothly.
Access the full presentation slides here.
Image credits: TRANS-OR Group, EPFL
