Ridepooling: demand-driven flexible public transport

The focus of ride pooling is on the intelligent bundling of ride requests. Ride-pooling vehicles, driven by professional drivers, operate independently of timetables and routes in a service area and can be booked flexibly via an app. A software package takes over the bundling of the received ride requests and notifies the driver via ‘virtual’ pick-up and destination stops for the trips. One such ride-pooling service is ‘fips’ from Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv), which is funded by the state. With its electric ride-pooling fleet, rnv is expanding its public transport services in the suburbs and outskirts of Mannheim.

The accompanying scientific research, which includes not only ‘fips’ but also other ridepooling projects, should provide insights for the design of a demand-oriented mobility system in Baden-Württemberg. The study focuses on the effects of the new service on the population's mobility behaviour and synergies with existing local transport services. In addition, the extent to which ride pooling can help to meet the local demand for mobility more efficiently and flexibly in different spatial structures was determined.

The key findings of the accompanying research ‘On-Demand Transport’ from 2020 to 2023 are set out in the final report. A brief overview of the project can be found in the information brochure of the Zukunftsnetzwerk.