Demand-responsive transport services have existed both formally and informally for a long period of time. Recent developments in communication and sensor technology have allowed such services to grow substantially in urban, sub-urban and rural areas.
Demand responsive transport is a technology-driven shared transport service operated by a company with professional drivers with flexible schedule, and/or flexible stops and/or flexible routing.
The key differentiation with traditional public transport is that services are provided as a response to the demand from customers.
The advantages of on-demand ridesharing
On-demand ridesharing offers the opportunity to enrich the traditional public transport offer and diversify the service portfolio, hence helping to attract new user groups who may currently be dependent on private vehicles.
They are particularly useful where the cost of fixed route, fixed schedule services may be unusually high in proportion to the demand such as in sparsely populated areas or during random times of the day. It can also be useful in first/last mile connectivity.
For public transport operators, it could therefore be a good opportunity to adopt new tools and new ways of working.
Coordinating on-demand ridesharing with scheduled public transport, for example through the pricing system or operational times, can result in a win-win proposition.
This coordination is also key to keeping the sector relevant in the context of the autonomous vehicle revolution.
Furthermore, efficiently integrating on-demand ride-sharing options by building integrated mobility platforms such as MaaS will pave the way towards more sustainable urban mobility systems.
A diversified approach
As there are multiple ways of delivering on-demand ridesharing, there needs to be a “horses for courses” approach. The existing regulatory approach may also need to adapt.
This training will contextualize such practices through a combination of theoretical and practical frameworks.
The participants should be able to develop a better understanding of the best practices, tools, skills and solutions, needed to implement a similar framework for their organisation and cities.
Reach your objectives
Broaden your knowledge and widen your perspective on demand responsive transport by learning from professional leaders
Understand the suitability of demand responsive transport within a public transport network and its use caes
Discuss the key ingredients for a successful deployment: from operational, infrastructural, technological and regulatory perspectives.
Get hands-on experience by discussing during workshop the deployment of demand responsive vehicles
Learn the best practices from Asia, Africa and Europe
Target Audience
Staff from bus and public transport planning departments
Strategy planners, mobility planners and land use planners
Professionals working on transport and urban policy
Professionals working for transport authorities and city governments, operators and consultancies
The course is suitable for participants from companies worldwide
This course is suitable for those who are fluent or have a high level in English.
Methodology
Participate in interactive online sessions which includes an introduction by course leaders and open discussions with participants
Apply your concepts during the online workshop
Exchange your current practices and experience with your peers
Each theme will be approached as followed:
Basic principles and conceptual approach
State of the art development and innovations
Good practices examples
Interactive exchange between participants and experts
UITP Training Programmes and all related processes are certified for ISO29990:2010 – the standard for learning services for non-formal education and training.
Why choose an online course
Interact with public transport professionals from across the world
Be time efficient, with 8 sessions over a 3 weeks timespan
Flexibility to join the sessions from any location in the world, at work or at home
Programme
Welcome & Introduction to the course
10:00–10:20
Recent Updates from Combined Mobility Committee, UITP
10:20–10:40
What is a good transportation system?
We are witnessing a major paradigm shift. Why?
Future transportation systems need to be clean, efficient and convenient. But how?
What does this mean for the future of transit authorities, planners and operators?
Within urban mobility options, demand responsive transport offers a space-efficient flexible service. Looking at it from a public transport point of view, different applications can be envisioned:
Complementing the public transport offer in time: During operational times where the demand is too low for higher capacity transport options e.g. evening & night times, Saturdays and Sundays
Complementing the public transport offer in space: In certain low-density areas where demand is low, e.g. suburban or rural areas, industrial areas, etc.
Offering additional services: Either as a premium service or for special needs.
Replacement of inefficient public transport lines: Especially when low demand does not justify the use of large vehicles neither from an economical nor from an ecological point of view and aiming at providing better service for the customers.
Peak Shaving: Providing an intermediate door-to-door service during peak periods that could ease the pressure on trunk services. This module will also compare the strategy taken by tech companies deploying on-demand services with the strategy followed by public transport authorities and operators.
What key elements need to be considered when designing a new system and service with demand responsive vehicles? From the fleet, to operational implications, infrastructure and technology, the deployment of the vehicles also depend on the chosen scenario that fit best. The use of simulation tools will be assessed and presented to demonstrate how on-demand services can support an existing public transport network. Simulation demonstrations will be presented by the best companies in the field. The following aspects will be presented and discussed through case studies:
Fleet, from cars and large SUVs to vans, shuttles and buses
Organisational and operating framework
Staffing
Stopping locations
Routing optimisation
Technological infrastructure
Finding a win-win-win scheme for all stakeholders regarding on-demand
Transdev’s approach of opportunity studies and demand modelling
Different service design in different environment
How we designed a 24/24 – 7/7 public transit network thanks to on-demand rides – France
Extending the reach of public transit in space with on-demand transit – Australia
How to optimize the transit service of an industrial zone thanks to on-demand – France
Leveraging a specific context to provide sustainable transit in a crisis context – The Netherlands
Points of attention and conclusion
Re-routing the bus industry
What problems does DRT solve?
Australia’s DRT Journey
Australia’s DRT trial results
North Lincolnshire Case Study
Every service area, whether it’s city-wide, outside city limits, or in commercial districts, comes with its own complexities. With no one-size-fits-all approach to on-demand transit, how can this solution be offered in the most cost-efficient and effective way, what are the prime use cases, and what data needs to be analyzed in designing, planning, and delivering the solution? Real-life case studies of on-demand services will be explored, as well.
Fundamentally, a modern DRT system operates on a digital backbone and relies heavily on IoT sensors, high-speed communication and super-fast processing of data. Unlike traditional public transport operations where decision making is largely manual, DRT operations runs mostly on rule-based algorithms or on machine-learning tools. What are these tools and how could they be leveraged in creating an efficient DRT system? Analytics is also essential in reviewing, monitoring and regulatory controlling. The KPI frameworks and data repository management will be discussed.
Pricing and ticketing are key parameters in dictating the sustainability of demand-responsive transport services. Subsidies may or may not be provided depending on the objectives of the city and its circumstances. Also, demand responsive transport is inherently a premium service where the cost of delivery would eventually be higher than regular public transport. How to measure demand for such services, people’s willingness to pay and then reflecting them into pricing and ticketing to offer a service that could become financially sustainable? Are there other opportunities to generate revenue beyond farebox revenues to offset the pressure on fares? How ticketing and fares of demand-responsive transport services need to be integrated into a MaaS approach, especially when bundling transport services into a subscription scheme?
HISTORY
TODAY
FUTURE
YOUR On-Demand Ridepooling Goals
Insights from various stages of service
How does Covid-19 impact On-Demand Services?
Takeaways for YOUR On-Demand Ridepooling Service
The workshops will consist of a hands-on experience allowing participants to work in small groups and discuss the suitability of a demand-responsive service in their cities. Which service would be the most adapted? In which one would you invest? Short simulations will be run using simulation tools.
A case study: Vallirana (Barcelona)
Present and future applications of DRT
Introduction to MOIA – a holistic On-Demand mobility service provider
Key characteristics of MOIA’s On-Demand Ridepooling service in Hamburg with over 300 fully electric vehicles
Lessons learned: operational excellence, user behaviour, satisfaction and retention and technological evolution
MOIA’s Covid Response
Regulatory challenges and outlook on the upcoming amendment of the German Transportation Act
Outlook: How On-Demand Ridepooling can have a meaningful impact on the transformation of urban mobility
General trends
Regulations
Laws
MainzRIDER launched in Sept. 2020 with 10 cars by Mainzer Mobilität and ViaVan.
How to introduce an on demand service as part of public transport and during COVID-19.
First experiences: usability, users, integration in public transport, partnership with ViaVan.
Trainers
Alok JAIN
CEO & Managing Director
Trans-Consult Ltd.
Hong Kong SAR, China
Alok is the CEO & Managing Director of Trans-consult. He is an international expert in public transport operations and management, with specialisation in new technology, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and clean fuel technologies. With 30 years of experience in the industry, Alok has worked with an array of international consultants and leading transport operators such as MTR Corporation Hong Kong and Kowloon Motor Bus Hong Kong.
He is an international expert trainer and a Fellow of Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong-based non-profit independent think tank. He regularly teaches at the University of Hong Kong and serves as a Member of the Transport Policy Committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong. He has several publications to his credit, including contribution to a book on best practice in railways operations and management.
Alok is a civil engineer and holds post-graduate degrees in transportation engineering and management.
Victoria Markewitz is part of the European Business Development team of Via Transportation and ViaVan, the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via, based in Berlin. She is responsible to drive the launch of Via’s and ViaVan’s licensing partnerships with European and Middle Eastern public transport operators and cities.
Prior to Via, Victoria worked as a management consultant for Roland Berger in the Transportation Competence Center, both in Germany and the Middle East, to consult clients on innovative mobility solutions and strategies.
Victoria graduated from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and a Master in Management degree.
Ben GALON
Director, Data Science
Moovit
Israel
Ben Galon is the Head of Moovit’s Data Science team. He joined Moovit in 2012 and led the trip planner team. In 2017 he was promoted to become head of our data science team where he leads a group of data scientists, algorithm developers and urban mobility specialists.
In his current position, Galon successfully helps transit agencies and operators, as well as cities and municipalities, understand mobility trends with greater accuracy, leading them to make the best data-driven decisions. This includes on-demand transport analyses, line performance studies, zone reports and more.
Specializing in the combination of spatial data and social data, Galon holds a PhD in Mapping and Geo-information Engineering from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, within the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Adrià Ramirez Papell leads the Service Design function for the on-demand branches of Swvl. He supports transit agencies and operators on defining DRT services that fit to their goals, whether they are service enhancement, cost-efficiency control, etc. Combining data-driven KPIs with political goals, budget constraints and end-user satisfaction is a key function of his role.
Adrià’s mission is to make sure that DRT provides value to all stakeholders and that this value is correctly understood by them.
Over the course of his career, Adrià has more than 10 years of experience in the consulting and mobility industries. He started in the DRT industry 6 years ago at Shotl, a Swvl Company in its early days, building the product, its reporting tools and the value engineering function. He is a Computer Engineer (BarcelonaTech) with a M.Sc. in Transport Planning and Engineering (University of Leeds).
Alexander Vysotsky
Head of Public Policy
Yandex.Taxi/Yango
Russian Federation
Alexander Vysotsky graduated from Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) in 2008 with specialization in Oriental studies.
He joined the Russian government service, Prime-ministers’ office the same year and worked there first in the speechwriting department and then in the department of international affairs till 2019. He also worked for the Moscow government for two years (2011-2012) – inside the speechwriting team of the Moscow Mayor office.
Alexander joined Yandex’ ride-hailing division – Yandex.Taxi – as Head of International Public Policy in 2019, when the company reached 18 countries in its operations. The company now runs its own brand Yandex.Taxi together with UBER CIS and YANGO brands in CIS and EMEA.
Alexander is also the member of Council on Foreign and Defense Politics – the oldest NGO in post-soviet Russia. His academic background includes lecturing in MGIMO for 5 years (2011-2015) on international relations’ history.
Lukas Foljanty
Director Business Development Europe
The Routing Company
Germany
In his role as Senior Manager City Partnerships, Lukas Foljanty is working with cities and public and private mobility providers to introduce highly efficient, end-customer centric On-Demand Ridepooling services across the globe.
Before joining MOIA, Lukas was working as Business Development Lead for moovel’s On-Demand Ridepooling solution, as In-House Management Consultant at Deutsche Bahn AG and as Consultant for Public Transit Agencies and Operators in DACH region.
Lukas is a graduated engineer in Urban and Regional Planning and lives in Berlin, Germany.
Louis-René CHABANNES
Group Solutions Manager, Transport-on-Demand
Transdev
France
Louis-René Chabannes is the Group solution manager for transport-on-demand and international coordinator for network planning. He has a ten-year experience in mobility, commercial development and public-private partnerships. Experienced with a proactive approach in digital innovation, his mission is to support Transdev’s transit networks to provide out-of-the-box mobility solutions to extend the footprint of public mobility services in time and space.
Tina SMOLDERS
Team Manager of Alternative Mobility Services
Mainzer Mobilität
Germany
Since 2009, Tina Smolders is working for Mainzer Mobilität, the public transport company of the city of Mainz in Germany. She is the Team Manager of Alternative Mobility Services. During her professional career, Tina monitored projects in the Alternative Mobility sector such as MainzRIDER that was launched in September 2020. She also was the project manager of a bike sharing system in Public Transport.
Kevin ORR
CEO & Co-Founder
Liftango
United Kingdom
Kevin Orr is the CEO of Liftango, leading a team of 40+ staff spread across the globe. Having started Liftango in 2016 working within Australia’s innovative On-demand bus trials he has since helped launch DRT services across North America and the UK.
Kevin leads an experienced team that helps cities, councils, transit authorities and bus operators identify and better understand where and how best to launch DRT services and unlock its maximal potential to improve transport.
With a strong belief that access to public transport is a fundamental right for everyone in society, Kevin helps organisations better understand the potential of DRT and achieve their local transport goals.
