The largest public transport industry event: Zukunft Nahverkehr
Mobility is a basic human need. That was the motto of the first Zukunft Nahverkehr, DB Regio’s new industry initiative! Representatives from industry, politics, science, and associations were able to experience first-hand what local transport could look like in the future. On the five stages, more than 150 agenda items invited visitors to immerse themselves in the topic of public transport, from podcast recordings to discussions about the “Deutschlandticket” and workshops. On the last two days, the trade fair opened its doors to passengers and showed what public transport has to offer.
A special highlight at Zukunft Nahverkehr was the NAHGEDACHT bus on the outdoor exhibition grounds. With the help of virtual reality, interested visitors could immerse themselves in the world of connected mobility inside the bus and experience how a journey with our autonomous and driver-based on-demand services works. The NAHGEDACHT bus is a campaign bus from DB Regio Straße: together with our colleagues from DB Regio Bus, we can bring the mobility turn and our solutions closer to our customers. The bus will stop at other locations in Germany in the coming months.
Our CCO Benjamin Pfeifer was one of the participants in “Real-time data – the untapped treasure of transport companies?” Together with Jürgen Roß (VBB), Katja Machatsch (DB Regio Reisendeninformation) and Peter Schütz (Reisendeninformation Deutsche Bahn AG), he discussed the significance of mobility data for transport companies. Those who could not be there can watch the panel online (only in German: Echtzeitdaten – der ungeborgene Schatz der Verkehrsunternehmen? // #ZNV23).
“Better, Faster, Stronger: The Significance of Public Transport for the ‘Future’ Connection” – that was the title of the second panel discussion with ioki participation. As an expert in mobility analysis and transport planning, Michael Wurm, our Director Mobility Analytics and Consulting, was also on site. Together with DB Smart City, Tanja Göbler (hvv), Sebastian Egerland (DVB) and Michael Egerland (Miles) he discussed what we need to succeed in terms of public transport connections. This panel was also recorded and is available on YouTube (only in German: Better, Faster, Stronger: Die Bedeutung des ÖV für den Anschluss “Zukunft” // ZNV23).
Autonomous driving and on-demand ridepooling: IAA Mobility
Zukunft Nahverkehr was not the only trade fair dedicated to the mobility of the future during this week. The IAA Mobility took place in Munich at the same time – ioki was also represented at this important industry event.
Our Managing Director, Dr. Michael Barillère-Scholz, met our industry partners for autonomous local transport together with Michael Peterson, Member of the Board of Management for Long-Distance Passenger Transport at Deutsche Bahn AG. As part of an Autonomous Driving Walk, they visited the booths of Schaeffler and VDL Groep as well as HOLON, Bosch and Mobileye. Different tech partners are involved in autonomous driving in public transport, from the latest generation of people movers, which are due to hit the roads in 2025, to the customer experience in the vehicle and the system for fully automated driving. We are excited to bring all partners together on our platform. As a conclusion of this inspiring day, Michael, together with Matthias Zink (Schaeffler AG), Marc Schindler (Ottobahn) and Johann Jungwirth (Mobileye), discussed the future of mobility and what ioki contributes to it. Thanks to Schaeffler AG for the invitation and to Sarah Yvonne Elßer for moderating.
On IAA Mobility Wednesday, our Head of Sales International and Business Development, Laura Reupke, represented ioki in the panel discussion “Re-inventing how we move people and goods powered by data and AI”. You can watch the recording of the panel here.
Another highlight was the presentation of the “Best of Mobility” award. Here, our colleague Freya Hoffmann, together with Thomas Huber from DB Regio Bus, accepted the award for “Mobile Services/Shared Economy” for our driver-based and autonomous on-demand solutions. A nice acknowledgement for the whole team and our work!
We were able to take away many impulses for our own work at ioki during this “Mobility Week”. Zukunft Nahverkehr showed how much potential there is in public transport and how essential its expansion is for the implementation of the mobility turn in Germany. The exchange with mobility enthusiasts from outside the public transport sector at the IAA Mobility also made it clear once again that we need to get everyone on board for the mobility turn and that with strong partners, we can take a decisive step towards this goal.
