Transport association for the greater Ingolstadt area further expands DRT services
- The VGI-Flexi - FX4 – Denkendorf is already the third on-demand service in the VGI network area
- Hacon and Padam Mobility provide the technological solution
- First trips can be booked as of January 19th, one day before the opening ceremony in Denkendorf
Paris / Hannover, 25.01.2023. About half a year ago, in June 2022, the first VGI Flexi on-demand transport service was launched in Beilngries near Ingolstadt. Now, Denkendorf (district of Eichstätt) is the third area to be integrated into the system.
The German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) and the project sponsor, the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM), will be funding the project until the end of 2024 under the title "VGI newMIND".
Users of the VGI-Flexi app are able to select their desired region directly in the app without requiring an additional application. Additionally, all pricing structures and booking requirements are the same. Anyone who does not want to use an app can rely on the booking options via the website or via telephone. Using intelligent algorithms, the system calculates the best routes and determines which passengers are transported together in which vehicle. In doing so, the platform combines similar travel requests in a way that makes sense for the passengers.
The regional on-demand platform is currently a unique project in Germany. Thanks to the system's multi-client capability, several transport companies can control their on-demand services simultaneously via just one management interface. This involves granting specific rights to certain individuals, which means that project participants only have access to the data relevant to their area, for example.
"The project partners involved are putting in a lot of effort and are investing heavily to make mobility in the Denkendorf municipal area even more attractive. They are thus contributing to the traffic turnaround as well as to environmentally friendly mobility." Alexander Anetsberger, District Administrator of Eichstätt County
For the transport association, the shared platform offers comprehensive control of the performance of the individual services as well as a significantly simplified breakdown of costs. Also, the costs of setting up new areas and maintaining the platform are split between the individual transport companies. With this approach, the project has real potential to remain economically feasible in the long term and can thus have a lasting positive impact on the mobility behaviour of residents.
"With the VGI-Flexi in Denkendorf, we are already introducing the third on-demand transport service in the region, following Beilngries and Scheyern. We thus offer users a reliable and easily accessible mobility service. We are pleased about the high number of users and the great feedback since the start as this shows that such flexible public transport services can be positively accepted by the users and integrated into their everyday lives. This project can serve as a model for other innovative public transport initiatives, as it demonstrates how resources can be efficiently deployed and managed across municipal boundaries to provide attractive local transport services as economically as possible." Gerd Overbeck, Head Of Shared Mobility & Partnerships at Hacon