The way in which students use their time is conditioned by the University's timetable. They spend much of their time at home where they study, eat and entertain their friends. They go out mainly for routine shopping, visiting all types of shop and all districts of the city. The 'peninsula', the central area of Lyon, is visited by few students (13% of the total) and only for exceptional purchases and for occasional visits to the cinema, cafés or restaurants. During the week, they rarely go out in the evening, but for them the weekend is a time devoted to family and friends and to developing a network of social relations. They go out on Saturday evenings and Sundays, mostly to places outside the University town.

The trip patterns of Lyon's students, who were surveyed in 1992, are not very different from those observed in 1986. They are characterised by a high level of use of public transport (twice as high as for the total population) and by a large number of movements on foot. Nearly 40% of students have access to a car, but few use it to go to the university, apparently reserving the car for leisure activities. During the week journeys are made in three ways, each of approximately equal importance : by car, by public transport, by walking. On Sundays a third of students do not leave their houses. The others use the car to go out, either as the driver or a passenger. Such behaviour is well-known : public transport is used for compulsory trips and the car for leisure and recreational activities.