German Traffic Turnaround Award: ioki Hamburg nominated

The joint ride-pooling project by Deutsche Bahn subsidiary ioki and Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein, according to the jury, represents "modern, sustainable mobility with on-demand shuttles in suburban areas. Shifting traffic from cars to public transport is a well-executed solution for the last mile in suburban areas." The ioki Hamburg on-demand shuttle is a public transport service without a fixed schedule or routes, fully integrated into the Hamburg Transport Association (hvv).

Since 2018, the joint project by Deutsche Bahn subsidiary ioki and Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) has been in operation, starting in the Hamburg districts of Lurup and Osdorf, and expanded to Billbrook in autumn 2019. In December 2020, as part of the Hamburg real-world laboratory and in cooperation with the city of Ahrensburg and the district of Stormarn, the ioki Hamburg services were extended to Ahrensburg and the Brunsbek/Lütjensee/Trittau area.

Scientifically accompanied by the Hamburg University of Technology

Nearly 600,000 passengers and more than 2.6 million kilometers traveled show that services like ioki Hamburg can make a significant contribution to the mobility transition:

• 88% of ioki Hamburg users hold an hvv season ticket.
• Around one-third consciously choose against their own car in favor of a comfortable and more sustainable mode of transport with the on-demand service.
• Around three-quarters (72%) of trips are used as the "first and last" mile intermodally with public transport (such as S-Bahn, regional train, or express bus).
• Half of all customers use the service daily.

This is the encouraging result of about three years of on-demand shuttle operation. The findings are based on scientific accompaniment and a total of three surveys by the Hamburg University of Technology, which has been accompanying the project from the start.

The German Mobility Transition Award is part of the "Mobility Transition in Practice" project, funded by the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in spring 2022.

In addition to ioki Hamburg, Allianz pro Schiene has nominated 14 other sustainable mobility projects for the German Mobility Transition Award. An independent jury will select the five winning projects from the nominations.