On-Demand Service: Wupsi shuttles with London cabs in Leverkusen

Starting from December 2022, the transport company wupsi will introduce on-demand transport services in Leverkusen and the Rheinisch-Bergisch district for the first time, to complement public transport in rural areas. wupsi has decided to deploy London taxis of the LEVC TX Shuttle model, which are electrically operated. According to wupsi, the barrier-free vehicles offer space for six passengers. The VRS tariff applies without any additional charge. Without a fixed schedule and without a fixed route, the new service is to be launched in the municipality of Odenthal with five TX Shuttles running in parallel, and in the Leverkusen districts of Opladen, Quettingen, Lützenkirchen, and the rural area of Steinbüchel, where seven vehicles will be in operation. Access is provided both via existing bus stops and additional virtual stops, which are a maximum of 250 meters away and within walking distance.

“The on-demand system will be a great addition to our existing mobility offering and will provide a way to transition to public transport without long waiting times, especially in rural areas,” says wupsi Managing Director Marc Kretkowski, looking forward to the new service. “In addition, we can also offer more direct connections without the need to change in urban areas.”

The new minibuses are intended to complement the existing bus service sensibly, not replace it. If a regular bus is running on the chosen route at the same time, this will be suggested as an option in the app.

Together with CleverShuttle and ioki

Following a Europe-wide tender, CleverShuttle was awarded the contract to carry out the operation on behalf of wupsi, and the software will be provided by Deutsche Bahn subsidiary ioki.

“Together with our partners, we can significantly improve the public transport offering in Leverkusen and the Rheinisch-Bergisch district within a few months. The fact that even more rural areas benefit from the new on-demand transport service is an important step for the local traffic transition,” says Bruno Ginnuth, co-founder, and CEO of CleverShuttle.

Funding by the Federal Ministry of Transport

Last December, wupsi received funding of approximately 9.5 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) to implement its mobility project “Multimodal Mobility in Leverkusen and the Rheinisch-Bergisch district.”

The BMDV's “Model Projects to Strengthen Public Transport” funding program supports projects that sustainably reduce CO₂ emissions in the transport sector through an attractive mobility offering. More than 160 projects nationwide applied for the funding, and wupsi's project was selected by the BMDV as one of twelve projects. In addition to the introduction of on-demand transport, the funding will also be used to densify the express bus network and expand the wupsiApp by 2024.