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CleverShuttle: Comeback with Knut in Frankfurt

The DB subsidiary is relaunching in Frankfurt with the on-demand service after the coronavirus withdrawal, marking the fourth service in the Rhine-Main network. Now, however, the vans are fully electric - and almost around the clock.

Here comes Knut (back): CleverShuttle is also arranging the new edition of the on-demand service, now with fully electric eVito Tourer. | Photo: CleverShuttle
Here comes Knut (back): CleverShuttle is also arranging the new edition of the on-demand service, now with fully electric eVito Tourer. | Photo: CleverShuttle
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Johannes Reichel

As of October 4, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary has launched the comeback of the on-demand shuttle "Knut" of the municipal public transport company traffiQ in northern Frankfurt. The new, fully electric service aims to provide an on-demand, almost door-to-door service and is intended to be an alternative to private car use. The Berlin-based company CleverShuttle is responsible for the operational implementation of the transport.

"For us, 'Knut' is a kind of comeback. After we had to withdraw our commercial ridepooling service from the city of Frankfurt in autumn 2019, we are now returning to the Main metropolis with a transport service," says CleverShuttle Managing Director and Co-Founder Bruno Ginnuth.

The service is now restarting fully electric and as a fixed component of the urban transport concept, complementing the existing public transport offering. It aims to provide a flexible public mobility service that is both comfortable and affordable. The new on-demand service is initially available in the four northern Frankfurt districts of Bonames, Harheim, Nieder-Erlenbach, and Nieder-Eschbach. A fleet of three electrically powered eVito Tourer PRO minibuses—one of which is barrier-free—serves a network of around 600 virtual and physical stops in the 21 km² operating area. Each shuttle offers space for up to six passengers. The vehicles are charged with electricity from renewable sources, through a newly established charging park by the provider at Bad Vilbel station.

Booking times are from 5:00 to 1:00 daily, and bookings can be made via the on-demand app of the Rhein-Main transport association (RMV) or by phone. Between ten and a maximum of 15 minutes later, the service promises that passengers will be picked up by a shuttle. If several passengers are traveling in the same direction, an algorithm is designed to pool their trip requests and transport them together, known as ride-pooling. The price for the new service is integrated into the RMV tariff and lies between the single ticket for buses and trains and the price for a taxi ride.

"For the mobility of the future, we need new forms of mobility like 'Knut', which embed the comfort of private cars into the public transport offering," believes Tom Reinhold, Managing Director of the municipal public transport company traffiQ.

He sees the shuttle as a complement to classic public transport during off-peak times and where there is no direct connection. The 13 drivers come from Frankfurt and the surrounding area. A group of "motivated and experienced drivers" has been recruited for the new service, some even returning.

Fourth Launch in the Joint Project "OnDeMo"

The new service is part of the RMV project "On-Demand Mobility for the Frankfurt/RheinMain Region" (OnDeMo), in which nine partners from the Rhein-Main area are implementing on-demand services. "Knut" is now the fourth service in the OnDeMo project to start operations. CleverShuttle operates all currently running on-demand services in the large project: "Hopper" in the Offenbach district (kvgOF), "HeinerLiner" in Darmstadt (HEAG mobilo), and "EMIL" in Taunusstein (RTV). The project is funded with 27 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

Translated automatically from German.
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