German research project investigates improvements of urban-rural connections

The Country to City Bridge (C2C Bridge) project, led by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), is a project researching and testing options for sustainable mobility connections for urban-rural commuting. The project addresses the lack of sufficient public transport services between edges of urban public transport services and the surrounding countryside, with the aim to provide attractive alternatives to commuting by car (with an average of only 1.1 passengers per car in Germany).

For this, C2C Bridge is to develop on-demand autonomous taxi services and smart interchange hubs at the central nodes of the urban public transport networks. It will work by fitting vehicles and technologies to a service - the vehicles need to match the criteria of carrying 4 passengers, a wheelchair, a pram and luggage, and to drive in convoy in heavy traffic conditions to reduce space use. The on-demand service will connect to smart interchange hubs incorporated within the public transport and shared mobility services of the city.

C2C Bridge’s second work stream is to study acceptance of the new mobility service with a wide range of stakeholders. Professor Peter Vortisch, Head of KIT's Institute for Transport Studies, stated: “To obtain a differentiated understanding of the mobility needs in the city and its rural neighbourhoods, we will talk to citizens, potential operators, urban planners, and vehicle manufacturers. The transport services will be developed taking into account the feedback of users. In this way, optimum connection of the city to its rural neighbourhood can be studied.”

C2C Bridge started in early 2024 and will run until 2027. It is embedded in the German Centre for Future Mobility, a nation-wide research network working for pioneering the mobility of the future. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.