Rural areas in particular are facing major challenges with regard to the change in mobility and changing usage patterns. For the attractive design of public transport services and the provision of a demand-oriented charging infrastructure, tailor-made solutions are required in sparsely populated regions. In many cases, civic activities complement the mobile services as an alternative to the own vehicle.
In order to strengthen, expand and professionalize existing or newly created structures and mobile services, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Employment and Housing, together with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Rural Areas and Consumer Protection, launched a competition of ideas entitled "Cooperative Mobility Concepts in Rural Areas: How can civic or entrepreneurial sharing concepts be professionally supported by car dealers/garages/dealers?
The projects, which are funded with a total of about 1.7 million euros, will be scientifically accompanied by Fraunhofer IAO during the entire project period. The research team provides support in technical questions, networks the project consortia and analyzes the effects and influencing factors for their implementation. The results are then transferred into a guideline to enable the transfer of successful approaches to other municipalities.
The project ideas include concepts ranging from car sharing platforms to a network of citizen shops, citizen buses for young and old, and mobility hubs at public transport stations. All concepts are characterized by new approaches to cooperation and comprehensive and active citizen participation. The funded projects started in mid-May 2020 and will run until December 31, 2021.
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO