In the Bavarian district of Kelheim, between Nuremberg and Regensburg, a second on-demand service starts on 1st March. After Kelheim, the city of Neustadt a.d. Donau is the second municipality in the district where the flexible shuttles called ‘KEXI’ reinforce the existing local transport. Passengers book their ride via the ‘KEXI’ app or by phone. The shuttles stop at over 140 stops throughout the city – depending on the user’s wishes and without a fixed timetable. Two new minibuses offer passengers WIFI and USB connections. In addition, they each have a child seat and two booster seats. One of the shuttles is barrier-free and has a wheelchair space.
The new service provides the people of Neustadt a.d. Donau with another flexible form of transport and runs from Monday to Friday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. In the two service areas of ‘KEXI’ in Kelheim and in Neustadt a.d. Donau, almost 300 virtual stops are now available to the inhabitants of the district in two cities.
Software company and Deutsche Bahn subsidiary ioki provides the digital operating system with the intelligent algorithm for ‘KEXI’, which bundles ride requests and forms car-pools. For this project, ioki is jointly implementing the on-demand transport with the Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries RBO Regionalbus Ostbayern and CleverShuttle. RBO Regionalbus Ostbayern is coordinating the project and procuring the minibuses. CleverShuttle operates the transport – from fleet management and data-driven traffic control to the management of the driving personnel.
The district of Kelheim relies on a strong, reliable and future-oriented local public transport system with individual and flexible mobility services for its citizens. With «KEXI», which stands for «Landkreis Kelheim Express individuell», the district creates an attractive mobility service for all citizens. The project is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy as part of regional management and supports municipalities in dealing with future issues. «KEXI», which was initiated by the district of Kelheim as the project manager, is co-financed by the cities of Kelheim and Neustadt a.d. Donau. as project partners in connection with the funding programme for improving mobility in rural areas by the Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport for the next three years.
Martin Neumeyer, District Administrator of Kelheim: «Mobility is a valuable asset. Our goal is to ensure the regional accessibility and thus the social participation of all dis-trict residents in the long term with modern and sustainable mobility. With KEXI, we are on the right track. KEXI offers more mobility and comfort. The plan is to extend the needs-based transport service to the entire district.»
Markus Pellmann-Janssen, Head of Sales DACH at ioki: «Flexible on-demand services like ‘KEXI’ in Neustadt a.d. Donau improve public mobility in rural areas and create an at-tractive, environmentally friendly alternative to private cars. With a dense network of stops and efficient carpooling, we enable digital public transport – very close to the mobility wishes of our passengers.»
