Electric buses from Moia: Volkswagens latest brand may be on the streets of Hamburg from autumn

04/27/2018

Electric buses from Moia Volkswagens latest brand may be on the streets of Hamburg from autumn

Moia

The Hamburg can soon be chauffeured with new electric buses through the city. The authorities have the operation for den new car service Moia of the VW Group approved, said the transport authority on Thursday in the Hanseatic city. Already in the fourth quarter of this year, the test operation can start with a selected number of registered passengers, at a price of a maximum of 30 cents per passenger per kilometer. From the 1st of January the company could be extensively tested.

The concept is a shuttle service with electro busses specially developed for Hamburg, which can be called via smartphone app to defined virtual breakpoints. Several passengers whose starting and finishing positions are in a similar direction share a vehicle and pay a fare, which is calculated per person per route. In the rental car mode, the passenger can also book individually and alone one of the shuttle buses. The buses do not drive autonomously, but are controlled by drivers. According to the traffic authority, the shuttle service should close the gap between taxi traffic as well as bus and train.

Of the 1000 vehicles requested, Moia is initially allowed to bring at most 500 on the streets of Hamburg; the rest only if public transport is not affected. Against Moia, there are reservations and concerns, especially in the taxi industry, which have been overridden by the authorities. The restrictions imposed are intended to ensure the functionality of the taxi business.

Luk, dpa-afx

To home page