Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schlaich, BHT: “A look at many smartphones shows that digitalization has long since reached consumers in the transport sector.”

Our mobility is already being significantly shaped by digitalization in both urban and rural areas. Shared mobility, traffic control for public transport using artificial intelligence and on-demand services could replace private cars in the long term. The smartphone plays a key role in this, allowing services to be booked and used flexibly. In the aconium interview “5 answers”, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schlaich, Professor of Mobility and Transport at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, describes how digital applications in the transport sector are taken for granted today, the potential of shared mobility and the importance of the so-called “last mile” in rural areas.

aconium: In which areas is digitalization already being used in transport today?
Professor Schlaich: A glance at many smartphones alone shows that digitalization has long since reached consumers in the transport sector. For their daily mobility, many people rely on navigation apps and route planners for traditional mobility on public transport, by bike or in their own car. There are also apps for newer forms of mobility, such as car, bike and eScooter sharing or car-based on-demand shuttle services.
A lot is also happening in the background on the provider side, for example the intelligent use of data in traffic control centers (keyword: Intelligent Transport Systems – ITS) or the monitoring of infrastructure using sensors and artificial intelligence.

aconium: To what extent can digital applications contribute to the further development of mobility in rural areas and improve the everyday lives of citizens?
Professor Schlaich: In fact, the digitalization of transport has so far taken place mainly in cities. There are three reasons for this:

1. In rural areas, there is still a strong focus on private cars, which can be used to travel individually and without apps. While around 40 percent of kilometers in large cities are covered on foot, by bike or by public transport, the proportion in small towns in rural areas is only around 16 percent. This means that around 84 percent of kilometers are covered by car or motorcycle. This is often mainly due to the fact that public transport is very unattractive in comparison to traveling by car.
2. In addition, infrastructure use is often not so critical that digital solutions are needed to increase capacity. A lane in the countryside is less likely to be congested than in metropolitan areas.
3. Last but not least, digitalization is often driven by private providers. And of course, they first go to where there are the most potential customers. And these are the metropolitan regions – even here in Berlin, the number of providers is already decreasing in the S-Bahn ring, because many systems can only be operated efficiently in densely populated areas.

Of course, digital solutions such as on-demand shuttle services also provide added value, especially in rural areas. This is precisely where traditional public transport reaches its limits. Due to the low demand caused by the sparse population alone, buses often travel across the countryside with only a few passengers per bus in unattractive 2-hour intervals. This is neither efficient nor ecological!
It is therefore good and right that on-demand services are being promoted in rural areas. In the short term in special programs, but in the medium term also as an alternative to traditional public transport. The latter also means that local authorities must be in a position to promote on-demand services instead of traditional scheduled public transport.

aconium: What are the challenges of introducing digital applications in the mobility and transportation sector?
Professor Schlaich: There are a number of legal, financial, organizational, technical and historical challenges that vary greatly depending on the application in question.
For example, some of the existing transport infrastructure is very old and not at the level of digitalization that one might expect. For example, it is not possible to simply implement a clever algorithm for controlling traffic lights, try it out and then, if successful, adopt it for permanent operation. It often requires extensive, expensive and time-consuming modernization of the traffic light systems. This naturally slows down digitalization.
But there are of course also positive examples where challenges are overcome. One example is “open data”. Here, many cities are making the potential of their data available to the general public, which in turn enables private companies to offer exciting digital services with added value based on this, which could probably not be created at the same speed in a city administration with other structures.

aconium: To what extent can innovative, digital mobility services such as shared mobility contribute to environmental protection and complement local public transport?
Professor Schlaich: If you use it properly, there is huge potential. The important thing is that shared mobility really does complement public transport. The danger is that attractive shared mobility offers will be used instead of public transport journeys. Then I suddenly have more emissions because shared mobility vehicles are driving alongside public transport. This is why high-capacity public transport (S-Bahn, U-Bahn) in particular must not be weakened. Shared mobility services should therefore be particularly active where local public transport cannot offer a good service. This often means “the last mile” – for example, the route from the S-Bahn station to home.
Here we cannot rely on the market to regulate this on its own in the direction of sustainable mobility. Private mobility providers will offer what users pay for. The state must intervene to regulate this, as could happen, for example, through the current amendment to the Passenger Transportation Act.

aconium: What is your vision for the further development of mobility in the digital age?
Professor Schlaich: Technology enables the best possible use of transportation for our mobility. I don’t need my own car or bike for this, but above all my smartphone, which I can use to receive and book offers.
In the background, however, this must be steered by legislation and cities towards sustainable mobility, for example by introducing high_{CO2 taxes} or redistributing road space.