That is the result of an investigation carried out on behalf of the Dutch public transport company Connexxion. About 55 percent of the passengers indicates that they have made nice contacts with other people while travelling on the bus.

The investigation was carried out this summer by the Dutch market research bureau Valuewait on behalf of Connexxion. Of the total number of people interrogated more than 80 percent uses the bus daily to go to work, and 37 percent has a favourite place to sit in the bus. 12 percent tries to take a seat next to a passenger which he or she considers to be nice. No less than 55 percent of the passengers interviewed indicates that they have had nice contacts during the bus trip. 41 percent of the travellers on the bus admit that they regularly flirt with other passengers while using the bus. Even 22 percent starts a conversation with the passenger they flirt with, but 15 percent just has eye contact. The flirting on the bus remains quite harmless, just 10 percent indicates that it leads to a date. The majority of the interviewed think that man and women flirt both as much on the bus.

For this research project 785 Connexxion travellers were interviewed, as part of the Reis je Rijk (travel yourself rich) program, a combined initiative by Connexxion and market research bureau Valuewait. The bus user answers, during the trip or at any other moment of his of her own choice, a number of short questions by using the keys of his mobile telephone. These questions cover all kinds of current topics. The passengers interviewed receive Value tokens, which can be saved for gifts. In this way, the waiting time of the passenger at a bus stop, or the travel time in a bus, are used in a valuable way, according to Connexxion.