On April 1, 2023, the Technical University of Munich, ride2go GmbH, goFLUX Mobility GmbH and MVV GmbH started the joint project "Mitanand", which aims to improve the mobility offer of the MVV by better linking local public transport (ÖPNV) with offers from aimed at people who offer ride-sharing opportunities. The "Mitanand" project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport with a total of around 200,000 euros as part of the mFUND innovation initiative.

Mobility needs are changing, climate protection and sustainability are major issues, and digitization is progressing - which in turn increases the requirements for routing, information and bookability of mobility offers. Now the Technical University of Munich, ride2go GmbH, goFLUX Mobility GmbH and the Munich Transport and Tariff Association GmbH are tackling this challenge in terms of better networking of ride-sharing offers with public transport and other mobility offers in the "Mitanand" project. The project is scheduled to run for a year and a half until October 2024.

Ride-sharing offers are a useful addition to traditional public transport, especially for people in sparsely populated areas. So far, however, ride-sharing portals have mainly focused on long-distance routes or the mobility of company employees. In the local or regional context for commuter, everyday and leisure mobility, there has not yet been a sustainable, successful solution in Germany that is also integrated into the public transport system.

In the "Mitanand" project, the integration of a tool for carpooling in the MVV mobility platform is planned for the MVV area. This should also create an intermodal routing of ride-sharing offers and public transport. In addition, a common data format and the open provision of this standardized data are being considered, which can be used by everyone involved. A transferrable concept is to be developed from these concrete applications, which will enable the prerequisites for later integration into the MVV tariff and deep integration of ride-sharing opportunities into the Munich transport association.

As part of the mFUND funding program, the BMDV has been supporting research and development projects relating to data-based digital innovations for Mobility 4.0 since 2016. The project funding is supplemented by active professional networking between actors from politics, business, administration and research and the provision of open data on the mobile library. You can find more information at www.mfund.de.

Image by Shilin Wang