Ridepooling as an addition to the transport system
"How can ridepooling be integrated into the existing transport system of a region that connects both the city of Graz and its surrounding area? That was the initial question with which we started the project for the simulative evaluation of ridepooling in the Styrian Central Region at the beginning of 2023", says Anna Reichenberger, Head of Mobility and Transport Solutions at Regional Management Styrian Central Region. She is responsible for the central topic of transport in the region.
Elena Just-Moczygemba, Head of Coordination Mobility & Leisure at Holding Graz, explains: "Graz-Linien (the local transport operator) operates public transport in Graz and has already set up an integrated mobility service called tim (daily.intelligent.mobile), which supplements scheduled services with mobility services such as (e-)car sharing, hire car services and e-taxis. Our core task is to operate public transport in Graz and to provide, improve and expand additional publicly accessible mobility services on behalf of the City of Graz so that people can do without their own car and still be mobile. That is why we are thinking about sensible ridepooling concepts."
The initial situation: Graz and special features of the surrounding area
The Styrian Central Region, which includes the city of Graz as well as the districts of Graz and its surrounding area and Voitsberg, is home to more than 500,000 inhabitants. Anyone familiar with the region knows about its basin location and the urban planning challenge that the city of Graz can only grow towards the south. It is also characterised by strong transport links with heavy commuter traffic from the surrounding area. Despite the different spatial structures between the city and the districts, the aim was to organise the means of transport in people's living, recreational and working areas as efficiently as possible and to combine them flexibly.
The region already has several on-demand systems: These are currently in operation in 42 out of 52 municipalities as a feeder to public transport or as an area-wide mobility solution in predominantly rural parts of the region. This also includes three areas on the outskirts of Graz, which are less well served by public transport. This means that the transport services operate on a small scale in defined areas and therefore do not provide a coherent service.
The goal: Creating a comprehensive mobility offer
The region's previous efforts around shared mobility services formed an important basis, which MOIA supplemented with its expertise in nationwide ridepooling. "A region-wide ridepooling service is more convenient and at the same time more efficient for customers than individual systems in individual municipalities. The aim is to create 'seamless mobility', which makes it easier for people to do without their own vehicle and also appeals to non-traditional public transport users", says Elena Just-Moczygemba. To further reduce traffic congestion, it was important for the region to build up expertise in the area of ridepooling and to investigate specific, demand-orientated, innovative solutions.
The process: Modelling demand & simulating scenarios
For the project, we were able to rely on the support of the organisational consultancy Quintessenz and the Graz University of Technology, which contributed mobility data and specialist knowledge on new and shared forms of mobility in addition to their local expertise in the Styrian Central Region. In addition, experts from regional management, the City of Graz and Holding Graz were regularly involved in the project process.
Firstly, the benefits of ridepooling for different groups of people were demonstrated on the basis of past surveys in the Styrian Central Region and Hamburg. Based on data such as population figures, job data or activity locations such as gastronomy establishments, the demand for ridepooling in the study region was determined in a temporally and spatially differentiated manner. MOIA's ridepooling simulations quantified the service quality (waiting times, detours), service efficiency (journeys per hour per vehicle, occupancy rate) and the impact on the city and traffic (empty journeys, total kilometres).
With the help of our Mobility Impact Analyzer MIA, all results of the model-based analyses are visualised and made tangible for clients and stakeholders in the city and region. The simulation results of several mobility scenarios can thus be flexibly filtered and analysed in detail for specified areas and viewed over the course of the day. Our mobility analytics experts expand the analyses with experience from MOIA operations, transport expertise and the latest scientific findings.
The result: quantification of demand and service characteristics
Felix Zwick, who accompanied the project as Mobility Analytics Lead at MOIA, draws the following conclusion for the project: "The comprehensive evaluation of ridepooling shows that ridepooling can be a valuable addition to traditional public transport for many groups of people. The model-based simulations quantify the potential demand and show how the service should be designed in order to improve the mobility system in the region in a targeted manner. In addition to an attractive service, we pay particular attention to an efficient service in order to ensure cost-effectiveness. In peripheral areas, the service has to be subsidised more than in the centre of Graz, but it also fulfils completely different objectives there, such as providing basic mobility."
"Integration of the existing tim-mobility stations was included in the assessment, as was the existing public transport network. In this way, the existing structures can be utilised in the best possible way and a system can be created that makes owning a private car obsolete for many people. For the client, the analysis showed that the design of the customer journey and the quality of the ridepooling vehicle should not be underestimated."
The next step towards realisation
"By working with MOIA, we gained new and interesting insights into the topic of ridepooling and the design of the customer journey with a focus on relaxation", adds Elena Just-Moczygemba. Anna Reichenberger adds that it was surprising how important the vehicle model is for a ridepooling service. "The Hamburg prototype impresses with its space, elegance and customer-friendly, private interior design. It will be very challenging to find a vehicle type that can achieve this - so crucial - quality."
The next step for Holding Graz and the Regional Management Styrian Central Region will be to analyse the results in greater depth in order to move closer to the possible implementation of a city-regional ridepooling service with the involvement of all regional stakeholders. "The possibility of modelling and simulating ridepooling in the existing transport system was the biggest incentive for the project for us due to its practical relevance", says Anna Reichenberger. "Combined with the valuable experience we were able to take away from Hamburg, it is now much easier to visualise an operation in our own city and region."