ioki has already achieved a number of milestones in the field of autonomous driving, from test operations on closed terrain to linking an On-Demand-Booking-System with autonomous driving vehicles. In March 2021, the « Law on Autonomous Driving » was presented in the Bundestag, which clearly shows: The topic is gaining more weight not only among mobility designers, but also at the political level. In the bill presented, legal framework conditions were defined for fully automated driving in certain operating areas. In addition, further investments are to be made in research and development in the field to make the mobility of the future safer, more environmentally friendly and, above all, user centered. « Germany will be the first country in the world to bring autonomous vehicles out of the research labs and onto the road, » says Federal Minister Andreas Scheuer – ioki has already been working on this for several years and shows itself to be an innovator making progress here.

Jörg Starr has already passed through several stations in the automotive industry. He has already worked as a manager at Smart and Daimler. Today, the hydrogen mobility expert works for Audi. In addition, Jörg Starr is chairman of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP). Technology, mineral oil and energy companies, gas producers and car manufacturers are working together to establish emission-free mobility with hydrogen and fuel cells across the board.

Mobility is a highly complex construct, consisting a wide variety of puzzle pieces and dependent on diverse influencing variables. Since the beginning of professional planning of publicly oriented mobility services, public transport authorities and transport companies have been confronted with a multitude of questions and possible answers.

Looking at our society from a above perspective without any prior knowledge, it seems as if the idea of a planet with endless resources has strongly manifested itself in the minds of people. A prime example of this way of thinking is the current use of motorised individual transport. If I want to drive, I have a seat in my car, fill up the tank, fasten my seat belt, press the accelerator and drive off. This way of thinking is dangerous. Motorised individual transport requires that resources are consumed – for a car that weighs 1.5 tonnes on average, that means about 70 tonnes of material only in production. In addition, the car pollutes the environment with every use and takes up too much space, especially in large cities.

Prof. Peter Eckart studied product design at the Bergische Universität GHS Wuppertal and later at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg. In 2000, he founded the design studio unit-design, Frankfurt, Bern, together with Bernd Hilpert, with whom he also works for the Deutsche Bahn. Since 2000 Peter Eckart has been Professor of Integrative Design at the HfG Offenbach and since 2011 Vice President of the University. His central research field is mobility design. Since 2018, he has been leading the interdisciplinary LOEWE research project with Prof. Dr. Kai Vöckler in the fields of urban and transport planning, social science mobility research, multimedia technologies and the design entitled project-mo.de, which focuses on the role of design in changing mobility behaviour.

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Vienna’s public transport system is among the best in the world. The network is dense and the frequency is tight. It is so well developed that you don’t even need to know the timetable. A total of 2.61 million people are transported from A to B by public transport here every day. The popularity can also be seen in the modal split, because: The public transport users have overtaken the car drivers. Around 38 percent of the distances are covered by public transport, while « only » 27 percent are covered by car. But what makes vienna different from other cities?

Jakob Muus is the founder and CEO of Tracks, a Berlin-based tech company with the goal of making road freight transport more efficient and sustainable through modern technologies. The platform developed by Tracks provides its users with analyses and recommendations for action, with which they can reduce the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of their fleet. This not only improves the environmental balance but also the competitiveness of participating companies.

An ever increasing urbanization of our society is clearly visible. Young people in particular are increasingly moving their centre of life from rural regions to the cities. In addition, there are many commuters who do not want to live directly in the urban jungle, but who find well-paid jobs mainly in the cities. This congestion in the cities and the associated additional traffic flows have consequences – especially for our increasingly grey planet. But what challenges must urban public transport face in times of the mobility change? And what role will it itself play in this?

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Almost 16 million people live in rural regions throughout Germany. For them it is often a difficult task to get from A to B by public transport. After all, rural regions are at the back of the queue when it comes to expanding public transport. But why is the accessibility of these regions so poor and public transport hardly an alternative? How can it be guaranteed that people living in rural areas can also be mobile in a climate-friendly and cost-effective way?

Tijen Onaran is the founder of the company Global Digital Women. Here, she is committed to the networking and visibility of women in the digital industry. In addition, Tijen advises companies on diversity issues, publishes articles in well-known media outlets such as Manager Magazine and moderates various events on topics of current interest to her.