On Thursday (13.07.2023), our last speaker series "MCube Speaker Series Future of Mobility" took place before our summer break at the German Museum Transport Center - this time on the topic "Sharing - curse or sustainable solution?"
In 1992, Germany's first Car-Sharing company STATTAUTO was born, and many providers and concepts followed. However, to date, no concept has become established across the board as a real relief for ALL, even though it sounds so simple in theory. We use expensive, space-consuming consumer goods exactly when we need them. The many bankruptcies in recent months, especially among bike-sharing providers (e.g. Avocargo) further dampen the mood. So we ask ourselves: what is preventing us from making better use of the huge potential offered by shared vehicles and using scarce urban space more efficiently?
With 3 practical examples, the speakers under the moderation of Carolin Zimmer (Technical University of Munich) showed how sharing can be a real alternative to the private car, what business models can look like and how this solution approach must be scaled in order to really take EVERYONE with us in the mobility transition.
First, project manager Nico Nachtigall (Chair of Automotive Engineering at the TUM) presents the MCube innovation project ComfficientShare. ComfficientShare is testing a convenient and efficient solution for electric vehicle and charging point sharing in urban neighborhoods. The project is currently being tested in Nymphenburg with a closed user group of 7 households in the Non-profit Munich Housing Association 1899 e.V. tested. The final phase of the project will test how participants' usage behavior changes when 7 households share 5 e-cars.
"With the replacement ratio of 7 private vehicles to 5 shared vehicles - which we are currently testing in ComfficientShare - we can save over 200,000 cars, extrapolated to Munich."
The car sharing concept in ComfficientShare has this goal, to always be able to provide users with a car when needed, to always offer a parking space with charging point in the underground garage, to provide a closed user group with expected higher basic cleanliness as well as a cleaning and maintenance service. More about the project here.
As a user of the ComfficientShare project, local resident Franziska Feiertag described how she comes to an arrangement with her neighbors as a user group and sets up rules so that car sharing works well for everyone. The exciting thing here: After the neighbors initially discussed complicated catalogs of measures, what was allowed and what was not allowed and, above all, how sanctions could be imposed, the group decided on the radical alternative. No list of sanctions, neighborly trust and control of common goods are sufficient for the time being.
"There is still little attention for this topic - too little pressure and incentive to become active."
Dr. Bernhard Kalkbrenner, Senior Manager Digital Hub Mobility the EntrepreneurTUMgave an insight into the "Hausflotte" project of the EntrepreneurTUM. The focus: sharing in shared houses. In contrast to ComfficientShare, private cars that are already in use are made available for peer-to-peer sharing by participants within residential communities. Dr. Bernhard Kalkbrenner has made it clear that scaling with a self-sustaining business model is still difficult at the moment and that the public mindset towards sharing vs. private cars is still weak. More about the house fleet project here.
The last speaker was Stefan Sommerfeldmobility manager of the city of Kempten, explained what sharing can look like in rural areas and reported on the project eHUBS NWE. In this project, mobility points were set up in Kempten (Allgäu) and now e-cars, e-scooters and (cargo) bicycles are available at the eHUBS available to the public.
"I have to make sharing easier and more convenient than owning a car."
Another focus of his presentation was on the implications of sharing for people with disabilities. E-scooters in the sharing network present obstacles for blind people, for example. We need to create solutions so that sharing for ALL is not perceived as a curse.
A nice and exciting conclusion to the Speaker Series of the summer semester 2023. We will be back with dates for the coming winter semester. Have a nice break!
About our speakers:
- Nico Nachtigall: TUM/ Chair of Automotive Engineering, Project Manager ComfficientShare
- Franziska Feiertag: ComfficientShare study participant
- Dr. Bernhard Kalkbrenner: Senior Manager at the Digital Hub Mobility of UnternehmerTUM
- Stefan Sommerfeld: Mobility Manager for the City of Kempten (Allgäu) in the Department of Civil Engineering and Transport and the Department of Economic and Urban Development
Many thanks for the impetus and discussions. A special thank you to the Bayern Innovativ GmbH and the EntrepreneurTUM.
Thank you Matthias Grundei for the pictures.
"The future of mobility" is a series of lectures by MCube - Munich Cluster for the future of Mobility in Metropolitan Regions, Technical University of Munich and openLAB Urban Mobility.
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