New research and development project MobilCharta5
Within the project MobilCharta5 the municipalities Overath, Hennef, Much, Neunkirchen-Seelscheid and Ruppichteroth want to develop and test new mobility concepts. Our ‘Institut für Verbraucherinformatik’ (IVI) at the ‘Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg’ is supporting the project with its scientific expertise in the fields of mobility research and participatory methods. After the already completed project phase I, the further development of the communication and participation formats for the involvement and the activation of the different actors on site is now intended in phase II.
The complete and translated name of the project is Mobility on a new level – innovative, land-saving, climate-protecting and environmentally friendly using the example of the southeastern ‘Bergisches RheinLand’ and describes exactly what it is all about: raising awareness for more sustainable mobility practices in order to support sustainable mobility in rural areas. In the focus are particularly the political purpose as well as various offers of multi- and intermodal mobility as essential incentives for transitioning to environmentally and climate friendly alternatives. This includes the opportunity to choose from different means of transport for a single trip or to combine several means of transport.
As a result, the interdependence of individual and societal mobility needs and behaviors as well as technological developments will be presented, tested and a mobility strategy will be developed in the specific project area in collaboration with citizens. For the active citizen participation, MobilCharta5 offers five workshop series on topics such as on-demand transport, private forms of organization (ridesharing), improved public transport or shared mobility (such as car sharing). One workshop series also deals with getting around by walking or cycling. “With the help of participatory methods and demand-oriented support for municipalities in the implementation of new technologies, we see great potential for innovative mobility concepts in rural areas,” says Paul Bossauer, project manager at IVI. “Currently, we are experiencing an enormous increase in shared-vehicle mobility services in cities. However, in rural areas, there is often a lack of alternatives to reduce dependency on private cars and promote more sustainable mobility. Mobility services need to be meaningfully integrated into the local infrastructure and adapted to local needs. With MobilCharta5, we want to support rural communities to better integrate alternative mobility offers into public transport and support sustainable mobility practices.”
The research and development project will be funded by the ‘Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung’ (BMBF) for three years from August 1, 2021. The total funding volume of the project is around one million Euros. The project consortium includes the funded partners City Overath (project coordinator) and Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg as well as the associated partner municipalities Hennef, Much, Neunkirchen-Seelscheid and Ruppichteroth.
