Overview
Taking into account the demographic change, ensuring mobility in rural areas faces major challenges: the changes in user groups and mobility purposes, the decline in bundled transport due to dispersed destinations and the significant decline in the number of inhabitants and pupils lead - in addition to financing and cost pressure - to new and, in some cases, fundamentally different framework conditions for the provision of public transport services as a contribution to safeguarding services of general interest and local supply. Realistic concepts for future mobility in rural areas often differ markedly from the innovative mobility options that have already been developed in many cases, which are usually geared to (large) cities.
Individually organized mobility, self-organization and the general "taking care of oneself" are becoming increasingly important in rural areas. The target-group-specific approaches and offers for the future must take concrete account of the special needs and expectations of young people, families, seniors and physically handicapped persons. Many different models have already been tested, but it is often unclear which new concepts and forms of offering are available are actually sustainable in the long term.
The research project tries to answer the question which mix of transport measures, taking into account innovative technologies, forms of self-organization, etc., is best suited for which type of space in order to guarantee land development in rural areas that are particularly affected by demographic change?
Based on a BMVI model project entitled "Long-term security of supply and mobility in rural areas", mobility concepts already developed within the framework of the research project are to be implemented in four sample regions of different room types. The "lowest" public transport level, i.e. the area development and connection to the regional public transport network, will be the main focus. In the above mentioned nationwide pilot projects, between 2016 and 2018, regions will be supported to develop an overall concept for ensuring both general interest services and local supply as well as mobility in the future. The accessibility of the facilities and offers is to be guaranteed by a coordinated integrated mobility concept. The aim is to combine conventional public transport services and structures with innovative, flexible mobility services and to involve public, private sector and civil society actors. Moreover, the project aims at creating a flexible mix of mobility services that enable people to reach the regional care locations, which at the same time assume the function of mobility hubs, with a reasonable amount of time and money.
In order to enable the federal government to gain insights into how mobility concepts can be put into practice, what challenges and hurdles exist and which transfer options are available to comparable regions, four selected rural areas are to be accompanied in the implementation of their ideas.
The project includes the following work packages:
First of all, a cross-evaluation of the mobility concepts of the 18 model regions from the BMVI model project and the selection of four distinctly different model regions of different spatial types, which can be used to accompany concrete implementations will be done.
Work package 2 focuses on the development of four concrete implementation concepts (including feasibility studies and compilation of service specifications for the individual forms of tenders) in the selected partner regions.
Finally, work package 3 consits of recommendations and answers to the key research question