polisMOBILITY 2023: Revitalization of Cities Only Works with Less Traffic

Important Lever of the Mobility Transition

She simply believes: Cars are still given far too much space, in relation, for example, to the average available living, playing, or open space. And "space has value" which needs to be reclaimed. The much-debated expansion of often still far too cheap resident parking zones often brings many advantages for residents, argued the Difu expert. In general, the tool of parking management offers an extremely important lever for the mobility transition, but also for the enhancement and climate resilience of cities. 

Intermodal Mobility: Train & Bike as Dream Combo

To avoid the need for a car, seamless integration of transportation modes is essential, meaning being "intermodally mobile," as Alexander Rosenthal, Head of Policy at the association "Future Bicycle," advocates. While bicycle and train are closely integrated and planned together in the Netherlands, the situation has been different in Germany, he outlines. In the neighboring country, 46 percent of train passengers come to the station by bicycle, and 20 percent continue by bike at their destination. In Germany, only about ten percent come to the station by bicycle, and less than three percent use a bike for onward travel from the station.

"Bicycle and train complement each other as an alternative to the car: The bicycle is extremely flexible and fast as individual transport on short to medium distances, while rail transport is fast and comfortable on longer distances," says Rosenthal.

His goal: One million bike parking spaces at train stations by 2030, in addition to the current 400,000. He estimates the costs at 6.7 billion euros and recommends serial and modular construction for faster implementation. However, it is also important to allow bicycle transport on trains and to establish rental systems at train stations to promote intermodality by bike. Bike sharing should be considered as "part of public transport" and not as an economic cost factor that has to be self-sustaining. That is not feasible, Rosenthal admitted realistically. He also advocated for integrating bike transport and rental systems into the Germany Ticket. And for nationwide digital networking of often locally and analogously set-up rental services.

Autonomous Shuttles: Opportunity for Rural Areas

Speaking of intermodal: The emerging "Autonomous Shuttles," which are surrounded by various myths, must also be understood as public transport, argued an illustrious round of well-known discussants who endeavored to debunk these myths. Especially for intermodal connections in rural regions, autonomous on-demand services could be useful for closing gaps on the first and last mile, the round argued. They are also suitable for opening up "distinct" areas as shuttles. From the experiences of pilot projects, insights can already be drawn for integrating these systems into public transport, and from an operator's perspective, the approval and procurement issues can be reflected upon, the experts concluded.

Driver Shortage Increases Pressure

Andreas Budde, Deputy for Planning, Construction, Transport, and Environment, City of Solingen, points to the need for autonomous shuttles already due to the noticeable shortage of skilled workers behind the wheel. By 2030, 85,000 bus drivers will be missing, while the number of passengers is supposed to double, complemented Tanja Wiesenthal, Management Board Member and Senior Expert Shared Automated Mobility at ioki, Director People. Sophia Gross-Fengels, Manager Mobility Transformation at MHP, advocated that autonomous shuttles should ultimately make private cars unnecessary.

Integrating into People's Daily Routines

It is necessary to integrate as seamlessly as possible into people's current routines, said the expert, who therefore recommends integration into public transport. From Budde's perspective, it should be irrelevant to users whether a shuttle operates with or without a driver. Additionally, the shuttles, which are still very expensive, must contribute to reducing operating costs as municipalities lack funds for large investments. This could work, said Wiesenthal from ioki. After all, eight to ten shuttles are "monitored," meaning supervised, by one person. 

Sometimes Hardly Faster than a Bike

That it already works was pointed out by Stephan Tschierschwitz, Head of Mobility Solutions at Schwarz Mobility Solutions, in places like Heilbronn or Bad Wimpfen. Sometimes in pilot projects, the bicycle is still faster, but that fails not because of the technology, but the current legal framework. He is confident that more will be possible soon. And the robo-taxis will first appear in rural areas, where the pressure for basic mobile services is greater - another myth that does have some truth to it.

VM-THINK TANK on City as a Service: How the City Serves with Mobility

City as a Service - with which mobility concepts do we drive out of the traffic congestion? With this question, VISION mobility also joined with a THINK TANK the tightly packed panel lineup. VM editor Thomas Kanzler addressed this question with knowledgeable support from Dr. Isabella Geis, responsible for the consulting field "Smart Mobility" at Q_PERIOR, as well as Anne-Catrin Norkauer, Department Leader Light Rail Infrastructure and Systems at Ramboll Germany. Because time is pressing, traffic jams, high traffic-related emissions, and inefficient means of transport are leading to traffic congestion in more and more cities.

In urban areas, transportation must become more sustainable, efficient, and smarter to remain attractive to residents and companies - and to achieve climate protection goals. In the livable city of the future, transportation must be intelligently networked. But will networking in the smart city come at the expense of individual transport? We discuss with transport planners, consulting firms, and an operator of an autonomous urban shuttle about which means of transport will move us in the city in the future.

Cargo Bike Sharing Is All the Rage

And that cargo bike rental systems are suitable as car replacements, especially in rural areas or on the outskirts of big cities and not just in urban neighborhoods, was the subject of a presentation by Thomas Büermann, Project Coordinator at the ADFC initiative fLotte Berlin at the parallel Cargo Bike Sharing Conference. The operational area of the predominantly single-track cargo bikes, which can now be borrowed free of charge thanks to funding, extends as far as Brandenburg, the idea is established and "suitable for the urban fringes." The idea of shared goods is becoming tangible. Although many initially doubted it would ever work.

When "Rad Spencer" Replaces the Car

He also points to the psychological effect when another means of transport suddenly appears on the streets and is used for shopping and even moving. And believes that this will trigger a shift in thinking and behavior. Or shift into gear. Better than the Dutch pioneer cargoroo, it cannot be summed up what is currently happening with shared cargo bikes: "From niche to mainstream." Our personal favorite at fLotte, whose bikes naturally have funny names: Rad Spencer, available for renting in Falkensee!