Future Mobility Flexible Urban Transportation

Go straight from the train to riding a bike or navigate the city with car sharing and shuttles: these growing projects are already making urban mobility easier. And more is planned!

Ein Mann und eine Frau winken sich zu. Die Frau hält ein rotes Hamburger Stadtrad. Der Mann steht zwischen zwei kleinen Autos. One app, many kinds of transport: the anchor project hvv switch, for example, is intended to enable quick and easy transfers between buses, trains, car sharing or shuttles.

Hamburg's ITS Projects: Improving Urban Transportation

Urban Mobility

Hamburg hosted the ITS World Congress 2021. This distinction was well earned, since Hamburg is a city helping to shape the urban traffic of the future in a sustainable manner, with plentiful public transport options, sharing services and the goal of making transport individual, flexible and environmentally friendly and efficient for everyone All these factors are decisive in making Hamburg a key player in the development of modern urban transportation. Which projects and options will shape public transport in Hamburg and the surrounding metropolitan region long term? And what can the city already boast about?

On-demand services like ioki Hamburg 

The electric ioki Hamburg shuttles have been integrated into the Hamburger Verkehrsbund (HVV) public transport network since summer 2018. The ioki shuttle service can easily be booked using an app. Every valid HVV ticket is also a ticket for ioki; an extra charge of 1 per person is charged for each journey. The project initially started in the Hamburg districts of Osdorf and Lurup, but the project has been extended to Billbrook and has also been available in the Stormarn district since December 2020.  

ioki is an on-demand service, but what else is there to know? As an example of on-demand mobility, ioki only comes when ordered, then the fastest route is determined. If there are other passengers who want to travel on a similar route, their needs are bundled together with the help of an algorithm and car pools are created. This on-demand service complements public transport and thus offers alternatives to automobile ownership. In this way, the volume of traffic can be condensed and traffic-related pollutants can be reduced.

Bus & Train, Carsharing or Shuttle Services

Missed the bus, the train is too full or the journey is longer than expected? In short: the traffic of the future must allow flexibility for users. That is the concept of hvv switch. The app not only shows the fastest public transport connections, but also suggests alternative routes with rental cars or shuttle services. For example, Hamburg's private on-demand service MOIA is also integrated. Like ioki, the ridesharing service bundles individual rides together and brings its passengers through Hamburg with an electrically powered vehicle fleet. The SIXT car sharing service can also be booked with the hvv switch app. There are over 70 hvv switch points throughout the city where users can rent or park vehicles from SIXT, SHARE NOW or cambio.

Drive first, pay later

The hvv switch app expanded throughout 2021, for example with Hamburg's ITS project 'Check-In / Be-Out'. The app registers the user's entire trip and at the end of the day they receive the cheapest ticket for all journeys combined. The service automatically selects the correct tariff zone and the ticket price.

Would you like to know more about what traveling through cities like Hamburg will look like in the future? The projects ioki, hvv switch and Check-In / Be-Out are part of a multifaceted strategy to develop the traffic of the future. Hamburg's visitors and residents were invited to explore and try out tomorrow's mobility at ITS Public Day on October 14 2021.

ITS 2021 Flexible Urban Transportation