Cities, SI Urban 2/2021, Tourism
Munich metropolitan area – Opportunities for new mobility concepts
Sulzemoos is located directly on the German A8 motorway, between Munich and Augsburg. Despite its peaceful size, the community, which has a population of around 3,000 (status in 2019), is well-known – mainly because of the daily congestion reports.
It is not uncommon for commuters to sit here for up to 45 minutes. Mayor Johannes Kneidl is therefore conducting an intensive search for simple and effective systems to relieve the roads around his community.
The present situation places a heavy strain not only on people but also on freight transport. “We are looking for an effective and above all fast system; we are looking closely at all the present alternatives here and we are not afraid when it comes to using out-of-the-box systems,” Kneidl says.
Multimodal
At the event, Reinhard Fitz from DOPPELMAYR recommended a multimodal connection option. With this approach, particular consideration is given to the pros and cons of individual systems and to how they can complement one another best.
In this case, the route must first be examined closely and the existing problems revealed. Then a rational, fact-based decision should be made. For example: in an urban area, a bus is more suitable than a tram as a connection for the final few metres, and even the latest mobility concepts cannot meet all the requirements on their own.
“We have wanted a suburban railway for a long time, but this has so far been unsuccessful, owing to space. The suburban railway lines need to be well placed strategically, so that they are also beneficial for the people.
Munich and many other cities have decided, for example, to lay the lines in the form of a star. This allows rapid movement. But, if there are no interconnections, then commuting between individual districts can mean a long detour, in spite of connection to the suburban railway network,” Kneidl says.
At the moment, such suburban railway branches are generally connected by means of buses. However, it should be considered here whether an urban cable car system might be more beneficial than the introduction of bus routes.
Various start-ups are also offering interesting approaches. The start-up UP-Bus combines both systems – bus and cable car – in order to exploit the individual advantages.
This system looks at the idea of multimodal transport and takes it to the next level. Here, the advantages of bus and cable car are directly combined and the respective shortcomings are balanced out.
The geographically fixed nature of the cable car can be subsequently balanced out by a sort of bus gondola and since the cable car runs in the third plane, the city’s constant congestion hotspots would no longer be a cause of delays.
This system is still being tested and not yet suitable for road or mass transport. However, combining individual transport systems promises to offer an opportunity for the future.
Individual
Another aspect that is often mentioned in connection with future mobility is the individuality of transport. Systems such as car sharing have imitated this and public transport is now also trying to make mass transport more individual.
This is no easy undertaking, if you consider that mass transport and private transport are irreconcilable in most people’s minds. With Ottobahn, it is believed that a concept has been found, which makes this dream possible – the idea is a sort of flying living room on rails. Initial tests in the factory seem to have been very positive here.
Coming back to the example of Sulzemoos: the ideal system for the village has not yet been found. As well as a fast and efficient connection, the desire is also for the ideal transport system to connect the small, surrounding villages, so thattheycanalsobenefitfromthe new system. tm
URBAN CABLE CAR ACCEPTANCE SURVEY
At Builtworld, a survey was conducted on the subject of the acceptance and scope of urban cable cars. Over 200 people were present. It emerged here that the majority of attendees could imagine themselves taking a cable car on the way to the office in the future (on a scale of 1 to 10, agreement with this was 8.6).
For an urban cable car in Munich, the greatest potential was considered to lie in the city centre or in connecting to districts in the surrounding area. Use in the urban area lagged a long way behind
