Digitally bookable bus on flexible routes – Very good customer ratings – Offer extended by one year

(Frankfurt am Main/Wittlich, December 18, 2018) Since May of this year, the digital call bus in Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, has been taking passengers to their destination on flexible routes without a fixed timetable. The new on-demand mobility offer is well received by customers. In the meantime, an average of 50 passengers per day travel with the two vehicles, which corresponds to an increase of 400 percent. Almost every fifth journey starts or ends at Wittlich station and thus offers convenient connecting mobility for the first and last mile. The “Wittlich Shuttle” from the on-demand provider ioki complements the existing transport infrastructure and offers more comfort and mobility.

The “Wittlich Shuttle” will also be supported by the city council in 2019 and its operation will be extended by one year. “I am delighted that our new public transport service in Wittlich is being used so well. By extending service times, we were able to offer commuters in particular an even more attractive way to get to work. The ‘Wittlich Shuttle’ will continue to promote mobility in our region in the coming year,” says Joachim Rodenkirch, Mayor of the City of Wittlich.

“With our on-demand offer, we also want to convince people in rural areas and thus make their own cars unnecessary. In Wittlich, we are on the right track with our first public on-demand shuttle in rural areas in Germany: Customers rate their journey with an average of 4.9 out of 5 points. This is to continue next year,” says Michael Barillère-Scholz, Managing Director of ioki.

With the launch of the “Wittlich Shuttle”, the operating times of the digital call bus were significantly extended: Two vehicles drive Monday to Friday between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. on flexible routes to over 70 possible stops. Customers can book the digital service conveniently via app. The comfort surcharge per trip for holders of season tickets or single tickets will be increased to EUR 1.90 from 2019. At the same time, the VRT fare will also be increased to EUR 2.10, so that customers who pay both fares on the bus will pay a maximum of four euros for one trip in future.

In Wittlich, the new mobility service is operated by DB Regio Bus. The on-demand platform was developed by ioki, the business line of Deutsche Bahn (DB) for intelligent on-demand mobility.

See how the Wittlich shuttle works: