EU-wide, the share of bus, metro, tram and underground in motorised passenger transport in 2022 was 17 percent, in Germany even only 15 percent [I]. In neighbouring Austria, according to surveys by the European Commission, the figure was 28 percent and in Denmark it was still 20 percent. While private cars are often still the easiest, albeit not the cleanest, solution in rural areas, cars have become a burden in urban centres. In 2024, a study of 2,500 participants from Germany found that more than half of those surveyed saw congestion in city centres as the biggest problem, followed by air pollution and traffic jams [II]. The aim is not to declare war on cars, but to reduce their use to a minimum, for example by expanding public transport and cycling services and through forward-looking urban planning.
How research, the public sector and transport companies are shaping the mobility of tomorrow – POLIS Annual Conference at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre
For almost 25 years now, the Annual POLIS Conference has been a meeting place for European cities and regions and those responsible for urban and transport planning to tackle these challenges together and exchange best practices. This year, after 14 years, the conference will take place on 27 and 28 November in Karlsruhe, Germany. And not without reason: Karlsruhe is regarded as one of the German pioneers for sustainable mobility and a central research centre in this field. The ‘Karlsruhe Region’ has been a member of the POLIS network since this year.
This year’s conference is hosted by the state of Baden-Württemberg and organised by the city of Karlsruhe and Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre. The conference is organised by the POLIS network, which has existed since 1989 and includes smaller cities and regions as well as major cities such as Paris and London. Tickets are available on the website at https://www.polisnetwork.eu/2024-annual-polis-conference/. The registration deadline is 12 November.
As part of the Annual POLIS Conference, the Karlsruhe players will be presenting some of their projects, both at the Karlsruhe Mobility Lab stand and in the conference programme. The topics range from air quality and climate protection (27 November, 9 a.m.) to autonomous driving (27 November, 4.45 p.m.). Various excursions on 28 November at 2 p.m. will present the cycle path network, the combined transport solution and the new VBK electric bus depot, among other things.
A selection of projects in the region:
Future North – neighbourhood development and integrated transport planning
The 27-hectare site in the north of Karlsruhe is still a wasteland. In future, the ‘Zukunft Nord’ neighbourhood will offer 1,500 flats and living space for 3,400 people – in line with the so-called 5-minute city and as a sustainably mobile district. ‘Integrated urban and transport planning takes mobility into account right from the start,’ says Prof Dr Anke Karmann-Woessner, Head of the Karlsruhe Urban Planning Office. ‘The aim is to avoid or relocate (car) traffic according to the 3 V rule and to organise the remaining car traffic in a compatible way.’ For Zukunft Nord, this means designing the new neighbourhood in such a way that work, education, shopping, childcare and leisure are all within a few minutes’ walk. This structure should be complemented by good public transport connections and an attractive network of cycle paths and footpaths. Ideally, car journeys and, in the best case, owning a car should be avoided. Private cars are relocated from the street or ground-level parking spaces close to homes to communal underground car parks. ‘If a parking space is just as far away from my home as a public transport stop, the inhibition threshold for using a private car for short journeys increases,’ says Prof. Dr Karmann-Woessner.
At first, this sounds like a compulsion to switch, but it has been clear to urban planners for decades that there can be no ‘business as usual’ tactics when it comes to urban car traffic – noise and emissions as well as traffic jams have become a burden for many citizens. According to a report by the EU environmental authority EEA, around a quarter of people in Germany are affected by traffic noise pollution [III]. In Karlsruhe, the transition from a car-friendly city to sustainable mobility that is compatible with the city has been in full swing for decades. It is hard to imagine that the market square, which today is used exclusively by pedestrians and offers a high quality of stay, was still a car park in the 1970s.
Transformation of historically evolved settlement structures
One example of how new ways of modern mobility are also possible in established city centre areas is the Karlsruhe combined transport solution: one of the ‘most important infrastructure projects in Baden-Württemberg,’ says Schirin Redzepovic, press spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe transport authority. A light rail tunnel and a road tunnel with a light rail line above it not only ensure faster arrivals, but have also shifted mobility underground in large parts of the city centre, optimised the quality of life above ground and reduced the overall volume of traffic in the city. ‘The expansion of the city centre to the south has also unleashed new potential that benefits the city and its citizens,’ says Redzepovic – office complexes, flats, green spaces and shops have been created, all with excellent public transport connections.
In addition to the advantages of such urban and transport planning projects for urban centres, planners in Karlsruhe are also focusing on the surrounding area: 66,000 people commute into Karlsruhe [IV]. The Karlsruhe model, which was invented by Dieter Ludwig, then head of Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) and Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG), has stood for a solution since 1992 that is now in use worldwide: the possibility for specially designed light rail vehicles to also use the railway network. This tram-train system links the inner-city tram lines with regional railway lines without the need to change from tram to train – a locational advantage, especially with regard to commuter traffic, and a good argument for swapping private cars for public transport.
The Regionalverband Mittlerer Oberrhein has also committed itself to linking the city of Karlsruhe with the surrounding region. Association Director Dr Matthias Proske: ‘The spatial and settlement structure creates the basis for how people can move around locally. At the same time, however, transport infrastructure and mobility behaviour also influence how spaces are used and developed. It is important to understand the interactions between transport behaviour, settlement structure and settlement development.’ Regional planning lays the foundations for the further development of mobility, particularly with regard to economic development and quality of life. The definition of roads, railway lines or cycle paths has a direct impact on transport networks, while integrated settlement and transport planning focuses on how cities are built and how settlements can be optimally linked to local public transport. ‘In the latest draft of the regional plan, for example, rail and high-speed cycle connections have been defined as free routes. This means that these routes are kept free from competing uses,’ says Dr Proske.
The expansion of infrastructure and the design of new mobility areas are only part of the process of promoting sustainable mobility. The more pressing challenge is that urban space is limited, traditional public transport services reach their limits at peak times and at the same time rural areas cannot be served or can only be served inadequately. The consortium partners in the POLIS membership, the city of Karlsruhe, the regional association and the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV), are three of eleven partners who have tackled these challenges with a digital solution: regiomove.
Intermodal and on-demand: integrated solutions that make the transition easier
The regiomove project, which brings together means of transport from various public and private providers in one app, was launched back in 2017. The offer ranges from trams and buses to car and bike sharing and on-demand transport for accessing areas with limited public transport coverage – including route planning and ticketing. The intermodal system, which was rolled out in 2020 and is now managed by KVV, has around 150,000 users who are active on the mobility platform. The app is now complemented by mobility ports at key hubs in the region. These ports offer on-site access to the regiomove platform and are customised to the locations, equipped with a bicycle service, parking spaces or lockers. Their aim is to make it easier for users to switch between different modes of transport.
The idea of service-orientated ports at central transfer points is also being taken up by the Karlsruhe research project Country2City Bridge. Here, too, the aim is to improve the connection between different modes of transport and the urban-rural connection. ‘We are researching how an optimal combination of autonomous vehicle concepts and traditional public transport as well as their transitions can be designed. The impact of such systems on urban and transport development will also be investigated,’ says Dr Matthias Vollat, who is leading the project under the auspices of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and in close cooperation with the Albtal transport company. In future, local authorities and other scientists will also be closely involved. The idea: with the help of a corresponding software solution, passengers in rural areas should be able to order an autonomous vehicle on demand that picks them up at home or in the immediate vicinity and takes them to the nearest mobility hub on the outskirts of the city. From there, it will be possible to transfer to the traditional public transport network. An algorithm is designed to ensure that the autonomous vehicles can also transport other passengers, but that the route can only be changed minimally in order to avoid major detours and time losses.
For the service to be a real alternative, its flexibility and reliability must be comparable to that of a private car. Dr Matthias Vollat: ‘Just as it is already possible to track the vehicle’s route live to some extent with parcel tracking, we also want to enable precise tracking of the vehicle that is scheduled for my collection.’ Ultimately, the customer is the one who has to accept the new system. Over the course of the coming year, Vollat therefore also wants to involve the public with a prototype. And what impact could the Country2City Bridge have on residential areas if it is implemented? ‘The introduction of the Karlsruhe model has shown that residential areas have developed relatively quickly around the new light rail stops. The Coutry2City Bridge could have a similar effect.’
(Info: Messe Karlsruhe)
[I] Statistical Pocketbook 2024: EU Transport in figures, S. 47ff.
[II] TÜV Mobility Studie 2024, S. 50.
[III] Environmental Noise in Europe 2020, S. 24.
[IV] Bundesagentur für Arbeit: Pendleratlas 2023.
05.11.2024
