Reshaping Mobility after COVID:

The Mobility Summit 2021 provided a 360-degree outlook on the future of mobility with a strong focus on how to reshape the mobility landscape after the pandemic. A panel of experts discussed how the COVID-19 crisis could be a big chance for public transportation. Prof. Dr. Andreas Knie from the Berlin Social Science Center warned that public transport is not ready to be the sole backbone of the mobility transition yet – it urgently needs to reorganize and promote digitalization, especially in the area of ticketing. In this sense, Corona could definitely act as an accelerator. Belit Onay, Mayor of Hannover, called for an extension of public transport offerings and an improved bicycle infrastructure. He also pleaded for a better integration of buses and trains with on-demand offers, Park & Ride and sharing providers. Hacon CEO Michael Frankenberg reaffirmed the urgency of digitally integrated door-to-door offers as the only way to convince people to switch from their own cars to public transport.

Addressing the challenge of how to restore passenger confidence in mass transit, Hacon and eos.uptrade, together with their partners Siemens Mobility, Bytemark and Padam Mobility, have developed new technologies. In addition to protecting risk groups in public transport, these solutions enable a shift to sustainable mobility and make the use of public transport much more attractive.

Based on Hacon’s big data technologies and self-learning algorithms, long-time customer Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) has successfully introduced a new software for predicting occupancy and crowded vehicles. This enables safe distancing on their buses and trains: Via the RMV’s trip planner, passengers in and around Frankfurt can check the estimated occupancy along their route. The solution is sustainable: After the pandemic, it will help to better utilize public transport capacity.

Contactless ticketing solutions are another essential component in making public transportation even safer: Stadtwerke Osnabrück recently introduced eos.uptrade’s Check-in/Be-out (CiBo), a state-of-the-art, simple and fast ticketing system. Customers simply swipe to start a trip; the ticketing system automatically checks them out and charges the best price. Adding Hacon’s expertise of precise location to the ticketing experience of eos.uptrade has helped to achieve great accuracy.

Various presentations and discussions addressed recent Mobility as a Service (MaaS) projects, the latest being the new, countrywide MaaS platform for the Netherlands (RiVier). Siemens Mobility, Hacon and eos.uptrade will implement a flexible and secure open ecosystem for all mobility providers to join in. RiVier riders will benefit from a plan, book & travel experience that offers all types of transportation such as buses and trains, bike and car sharing, scooters and taxis through one platform and one contract.

Not only in the MaaS context, on-demand transit (DRT) plays an increasingly important role. If properly integrated, third-party services complement public transport. Padam Mobility, Paris-based provider for DRT and paratransit software solutions, empowers cites and transit operators to make transportation more efficient – in both urban and rural areas. Padam Mobility CEO Grégoire Bonnat gave insights into their technology including powerful optimization algorithms and traffic data integration.