BMBF research project AA-MOBIL

E-mobility and cross-company carpooling and company transport as a solution

After more than a year of work, phase 1 of the "AA-MOBIL" research project funded by the federal government as part of the "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025" future initiative has been completed. In addition to the City of Aalen (Office for Economic Development), Aalen University of Applied Sciences (Competence Center for Innovative Business Models), OstalbBürgerEnergie eG (OBE), Mapal Dr. Kress KG and other companies and public transport companies were involved in the project. The results of the research work were summarized in a final report, which was presented today to Mayor Thilo Rentschler and Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the Bundestag. Thanks to the support of Roderich Kiesewetter, it was possible to bring a funding volume of EUR 100,000 to the Ostalb.

As part of the framework of the research project, the project team led by Felix Unseld (Head of Economic Development of the City of Aalen) and Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl (Head of the Competence Center for Innovative Business Models at Aalen University of Applied Sciences) as well as Hans-Peter Weber (Chairman of OstalbBürgerEnergie eG) conducted online surveys and expert interviews. The project results are based on over 1,300 responses from surveyed citizens, staff from companies and the institution of higher education, students, company management, local public transport operators and representatives of public transport providers. This makes it possible to derive well-founded statements about the mobility needs of citizens and their attitudes towards CO2- and NOx-reduced mobility, especially e-mobility and cycling.

The project ideas were discussed in design thinking workshops with students from the institution of higher education, project workshops and numerous publications in regional, national and 1. science and scholarshop (allgem.) publications and made accessible to a broad spectrum of interested citizens and institutions. The final results were also presented to the municipal council committee for the environment and urban development and presented and explained in talks; lectures at the institution of higher education.

It should be particularly emphasized that personal individual mobility by car is still of great importance and will continue to be an important mobility factor in the future, especially in rural regions such as the Ostalb. In this respect, the aim is to make this individual mobility environmentally friendly, with electric vehicles of all kinds playing a special role from today's perspective. Appointment funding for professors; appointment funds should also be "rethought". Hans-Peter Weber, Chairman of OstalbBürgerEnergie e.G., together with the research team from the city and the institution of higher education at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, is certain that the development of a multimodal transport app that is optimally tailored to regional needs should "rethink" carpooling and company transport. This can only be successful with the intensive involvement of companies and contracting parties as well as students at the institution of higher education. The project team proposes that carpooling and company transport should be redefined and developed across companies and modes of transport (car, public transport, bicycle).

Member of the Bundestag Roderich Kiesewetter is convinced that the findings from the BMBF research project, which are summarized in the final report presented today, should now be further developed and implemented within the framework of SmartCity Aalen and the Aalen-Heidenheim Mobility Pact. Mayor Thilo Rentschler agreed with this and expressed his confidence that the extremely well-founded and innovative proposals of the local council and the new mayor will be implemented. This is necessary simply because of the demand for climate neutrality.

MobilityWorkCity 2025 AA-MOBIL Phase 1 Final report1.05 MBPDF

What mobility wishes and needs do people have here in the central city of Aalen? As part of the "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025" directive from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), a project team from the City of Aalen, Aalen University of Applied Sciences and OstalbBürgerEnergie eG (OBE) investigated this question. The aim was to give precedence to the search for solutions to reduce the volume of traffic and the associated CO2 and NOx pollution, taking into account individual mobility requirements. A large-scale survey of citizens, employees, university staff and students was carried out for this purpose.

Board of Management; members of the executive board Hans-Peter Weber, who was involved in the project team as project coordinator for OBE, reported on the results and the mobility concept developed by the project team in a talk; lecture. The Head /Director of the Competence Center for Innovative Business Models and Director of Studies, Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl, will accompany the lecture event and Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the German Bundestag, will comment on the project results in his welcoming address.

Results of the BMBF research project AA-MOBIL

• Appointment, date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021
• Start: 19.00 hrs
• Procedure:
  Introduction: Professor Dr. Anna Nagl
  Greeting: Member of the Bundestag Roderich Kiesewetter
  Talk; lecture: Hans-Peter Weber, project coordinator, AA-MOBIL

All citizens interested in this very important topic for the center of Aalen and of course the students of Aalen University of Applied Sciences are invited.
There are 5 hours of workload general studies part of the degree program for the students.

Phase 1 of the "AA-MOBIL" project has been completed (from left): Stefanie Benz, Felix Unseld, Hans-Peter Weber, Mayor Thilo Rentschler, Professor Dr. Anna Nagl and Member of Parliament Roderich Kiesewetter support the progress, not in the photo Anja Hoh

Monday, November 9, 2020: Environmentally friendly and sustainable, but at the same time simple and user-friendly: this is what the mobility concept in Aalen could look like in the future. In order to develop solutions for this, the "AA-MOBIL" transport project was launched and funded within the framework of the "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025" directive from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project team led by business development manager Felix Unseld, Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl from the Competence Center for Innovative Business Models at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, and Hans-Peter Weber, managing board member of OstalbBürgerEnergie eG (OBE), presented its final report in the presence of Aalen's Lord Mayor Thilo Rentschler and Member of the Bundestag Roderich Kiesewetter after almost a year of project work. "The ideas are a good fit with our other Smart City projects," said Lord Mayor Rentschler.

The city of Aalen has outlined a project with the aim of improving the traffic situation, especially commuter traffic, and was selected for this funding along with 50 municipalities across Germany. The precedence to the BMBF research project guidelines "MobilityWorkCity 2025" is the development of concepts to reduce individual traffic and the associated pollutant emissions.

Phase 1, which is to be completed by the end of this year, focuses on the development of innovative ideas and solutions for a modern and sustainable overall mobility concept for the Aalen region. In the subsequent three-year phase 2 of this BMBF funding directive, for which the city of Aalen has submitted a funding application, the aim is to evaluate the proposed solutions and test their implementation with a partner municipality and partner companies. In phase 3, the applicability in pilot projects is to be verified and transferability to other medium-sized centers is to be ensured.

Findings from the survey in phase 1

In phase 1, the main aim was to examine the current traffic situation and to find out people's attitudes with regard to their personal mobility situation and mobility needs. To this end, over 1,300 citizens, employees, companies and bus and rail operators were surveyed. One of the key findings is that a high level of individual mobility is extremely important to people in the region. More than half of those surveyed use their own car to travel to work or educational institutions. Only 15% use public transport, 13% cycle and 8% walk.

Over two thirds own two or more cars in their household; 96% of these cars are powered by an internal combustion engine. 62% of those surveyed would consider switching to an electric vehicle if the opportunity arose. There is a considerable need for information on electric mobility. Five arguments were put forward against electric vehicles: too expensive, too short a range, too few charging stations, too long a charging time and negative environmental aspects of the battery.

There are also information deficits with regard to public transport: from the main train station or the central bus station (ZOB), for example, you can get to the institution of higher education every 10 minutes. Most destinations in Aalen can be reached every 20 minutes. Real-time information is also already available on many bus routes. Overall, however, only 10% of people in Aalen use public transport - this corresponds to the average usage at state level.

Participation as the top priority in this BMBF research project

Proposed solutions were developed in a project workshop in which members of the project team, representatives from the city planning office, civil engineering office and the office for the environment, green spaces and environmentally friendly mobility as well as industrial companies took part. As part of this BMBF research project, a coordinating office for mobility at the city is proposed. In cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership, collaboration, this office would develop a mobility kit tailored to the region, from whose elements the companies and educational institutions could put together their own individual mobility concept. Ideally, they would be given advice, to and accompanied by a mobility coordinator.

A multimodal app should be an important component of the mobility kit. Among other things, this should enable and manage cross-company car pools and company bus routes - making it possible to commute to the desired destinations flexibly in terms of time and connected to buildings and facilities. The necessary information from drivers and carpoolers is to be collected via this platform and stored on a "server administered by the local authority in the region". In addition to private and company vehicles, public transport, sharing and cab providers are to be optimally integrated into this platform. In this way, the traffic situation in the medium-sized centers of Aalen and Heidenheim should be significantly cleared of outstanding debts, especially at peak times. The purchase and use of e-vehicles is to be funded through an e-mobility campaign. Both measures are intended to bring about a significant reduction in CO2 and NOx emissions. The attractiveness of public transport is to be demonstrated by means of an advertising campaign.

In the upcoming project phase 2, the city of Aalen can count on the support of Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the Bundestag. He has already sent a letter to the Federal Minister of Research, Anja Karliczek, asking for further support for "AA-MOBIL". "I am enthusiastic about the proposed solutions and the opportunity to combine this project with the mobility needs of companies such as Zeiss," said Kiesewetter, who was impressed by the project.

© (BMBF and FONA)

Next steps

The deadline for submitting a project outline for the second phase of the "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025" funding measures is December 1, 2020. The city of Aalen will submit its concept with the support of the project partners and other interested stakeholders as well as the partner municipality of Heidenheim. 15 innovative mobility concepts, in particular from the 50 municipalities funded in phase 1, are expected to receive funding in the second project phase from mid-2021 to mid-2024.

Previous press releases, including

Information deficits make the switch to electric cars more difficult, GenoGraph News from 14.09.2020: https://www.wir-leben-genossenschaft.de/de/Informationsdefizite-erschweren-den-Umstieg-auf-Elektroautos-8964.htm

Over 1,300 survey participants take part in the AA-Mobil project, City of Aalen from 01.07.2020: https: //www.aalen.de/ueber-1-300-befragte-beteiligen-sich-am-projekt-aa-mobil.154628.25.htm

And here is the website of the accompanying research of the BMBF directive "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025" https://www.zukunft-nachhaltige-mobilitaet.de/

Fri, July 03, 2020→

The AA-MOBIL project has reached an important interim goal: the survey of staff, citizens and companies has been completed and evaluated. With over 1,300 participants, the survey received an outstanding response. Lord Mayor Thilo Rentschler is delighted with the high level of participation in the survey: "The results provide us with important insights for Aalen in the field (of) sustainable mobility." One result should be emphasized very clearly.

The aim of the AA-MOBIL research project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is to develop solutions for reducing and optimizing traffic and reducing traffic-related emissions in cities. "To this end, it was important for us to research the attitudes of the population and companies towards transport issues and their openness to change as a first step," says Felix Unseld, business development officer for the city of Aalen, who is supervising the project on the city side together with his staff Stefanie Benz. The surveys, workshops and expert interviews conducted with public transport providers and operators form a sound academic basis for this.

The survey and evaluation was carried out on behalf of the city of Aalen by the Aalen University of Applied Sciences under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl and Hans-Peter Weber, Bitte siehe 'Präsidium' eG (OBE), during the time period from April to May. The survey was launched as a "pre-test" with the members of OBE. Of the 250 members reached by e-mail, 113 took part in the survey. The number of participants from the other companies and organizations involved in the survey was equally pleasing. Staff from Mapal, Alfing, RUD, Wasseralfinger Brauerei, VR-Bank Ostalb, Kreissparkasse Ostalb, the institution of higher education and the Municipal Offices were included in the survey. In addition, interested citizens were asked to take part in the survey via daily newspapers, city information and the Internet.

Companies in Aalen were also contacted to find out their views on the topic of mobility. Here too, 18 other regionally based companies took part. The project team is satisfied with the great response that the AA-MOBIL project has received from companies and citizens. A workshop with students from the institution of higher education in a "design thinking format" rounded off and confirmed the results. A citizens' workshop with interested citizens is still to be held, provided the coronavirus regulations allow this.

The key findings of the survey are that three quarters of the people surveyed have to travel up to 20 kilometers to work every day. This corresponds to a travel time of up to 30 minutes. The main means of transportation for Aalen's citizens is the car with almost 60 percent. Around 25 percent of those surveyed use public transport. The remaining share (15 percent) is mainly accounted for by cycling and walking. Carpooling currently plays an absolutely subordinate role, which leads to the conclusion that a large proportion of those surveyed drive to work alone. This leads to a very high volume of traffic at peak times and presents companies with the challenge of having to offer sufficient parking space.

In addition to commuter traffic, the car is also the most frequently used means of transportation for leisure. The survey results also show that 75 percent of respondents have two or more cars in their household. Electric cars still account for a small proportion of the vehicle population. However, 62 percent of those surveyed stated that they could imagine replacing a vehicle with a combustion engine with an electric vehicle when they next buy a car. Other popular alternatives include e-bikes (32%) and bicycles (27%), as well as switching to public transport (30%). With regard to electric cars, the attitude of those surveyed clearly shows a high need for information on costs, range, charging infrastructure and environmental issues. It is still evident here that respondents only give precedence to the purchase costs of vehicles and do not consider the entire life cycle costs. The same applies to the assessment of public transport services in terms of frequency and routing.

For Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Bundestag, with whose significant support the project was awarded to the city of Aalen and the institution of higher education in Aalen, the project result is extremely interesting: "The interim project result confirms the need to form professional car pools and to prepare the ground for the further development of e-vehicles. Companies in the region must also be closely involved in this endeavor."

What are the next steps in the research project?

Based on the results of the survey, the expert interviews and the work of the project team, over 30 possible solutions for improving the transport situation have been developed. These are now being analyzed and assessed in project meetings with the stakeholders. The innovative ideas and solutions that have the greatest chance of being implemented will then be selected. The results will be presented to the municipal council in September. At the same time, intensive discussions will be held with companies, as they are also called upon to make their contribution to optimizing the modal split - the composition of transport use - in order to help improve the overall transport situation in Aalen and the surrounding area. Lord Mayor Thilo Rentschler is looking forward to the presentation date: "I am very excited to see what concrete recommendations the project team has in store for the city of Aalen and how the traffic situation in Aalen can be optimized."

Federal Ministry of Education and Research grants approval for funding of 100,000 euros

Fri, December 20, 2019

How will we get around in the future? And what infrastructure will we need? Autonomous driving, car sharing and the use of vehicles with environmentally friendly electric drives are just three of the topics being employed by a joint project team from Aalen University of Applied Sciences, the City of Aalen and OstalbBürgerEnergie eG. Together, they want to develop innovative municipal mobility concepts for the region. Their funding application Their funding application was granted as part of, within the framework of the directive for the funding of projects on the topic of "MobilityWorkCity 2025" by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and will be supported with 100,000 euros.

We want to be able to get from A to B at any time without having to wait long or be dependent on others. The car is currently still the most popular means of transportation. Experts agree that this will change in the future. But how can we reconcile the desire for the greatest possible individual mobility with the goal of reducing environmental pollution and thus emissions such as noise, air pollution and CO2 pollution? Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl from Aalen University of Applied Sciences, Carina Nitschke from the City of Aalen's Office for Economic Development and Hans-Peter Weber, CEO of OstalbBürgerEnergie eG, want to develop solutions for these different requirements in order to prevent further overloading of the mobility infrastructure.

Roderich Kiesewetter MdB and Lord Mayor Thilo Rentschler are in favor of the project

They are supported by Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the Bundestag, who emphasized in a call for proposals to Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek that the project is a great opportunity for both the city of Aalen and the institution of higher education: "The focus on managing individual mobility is what makes the concept so appealing, as it also includes the mobility of the workforce. In particular, it involves the multiple use of vehicles as part of car sharing systems in public, home and company parking lots, as well as the optimization of public transport and the electrification of commercial transport."

Concept should be transferable to other municipalities

The project team now wants to develop ideas that will ease the local and regional traffic situation and ensure a sustainable improvement in emissions. The Mayor of Aalen, Thilo Rentschler, who is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OstalbBürgerEnergie eG, will support the coordination of the project with other projects. This includes, for example, an examination of the extent to which CO2 pollution can be reduced through the use of environmentally friendly PV electricity. The concept should also be transferable to other municipalities at a later date.

The BMBF classified the application, request as particularly worthy of funding and is providing 100,000 euros for its implementation. This makes the joint project between Aalen University of Applied Sciences, the city of Aalen and OstalbBürgerEnergie eG one of only 50 projects nationwide to be funded.

This scheme, enterprise, aim, goal and content is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the priority area of socio-ecological research under the funding code 01UV2046_ZB. The authors are responsible for the contents.

MobilityWorkCity 2025 AA-MOBIL Phase 1 Final Report1.05 MBPDF

Funding measures within the framework of the directive for the funding of projects of the BMBF on the topic "MobilitätsWerkStadt 2025": "Development of innovative ideas and solutions for the use of e-mobility in the context of a modern, sustainable overall mobility concept for the city of Aalen"

Short title: AA-MOBIL

Project duration: 01.01.2020 to 31.03.2021

Vision of the BMBF research project AA-MOBIL

This research project aims to resolve the conflicting goals of flexible individual mobility and the required reduction in CO2 and NOx emissions. The following measures in particular are necessary in order to control traffic flows and achieve the climate targets:

• a significant reduction in fossil fuel-powered transport

• Increased use of "fuels" produced from renewable Energy sources

• Development and expansion of e-mobility, including charging infrastructure accordingly

• Reduction of motorized private transport induced by appointments for professors; appointment funds as a whole, and in particular with regard to the reduction of "one-person commuter traffic" or the increased development of offers/platforms for "professional" carpooling

• Improving the attractiveness of local public transport on the basis of a safe, economical, profitable, financially, cost-effective digital network with private transport that is used intensively by citizens - connecting P&R parking lots; parking spaces to the public transport system

• Development of a car-sharing culture and expansion of services accordingly

• Moving away from car ownership towards the use of mobility services in medium-sized centers such as Aalen and rural regions

In view of the scope and complexity of the challenges, only holistic concepts developed together with the stakeholders are likely to succeed.

Embedded in the structure of an overall mobility concept, the aim of this research project is to develop ideas and solutions that ease the local and regional traffic situation and ensure a sustainable reduction in emissions. At the same time, impulses are provided for imitation by other municipalities.

This scheme, enterprise, aim, goal is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the funding priority Social-Ecological Research under the funding code 01UV2046_ZB. The authors are responsible for the contents.

Overall project management:

Municipal Offices Aalen, Felix Unseld, Head /Director of Economic Development and Digitization, Marktplatz 30, 73430 Aalen,

Contact person Municipal Offices Aalen:

Stefanie Benz, Tel.: 07361 52-1129, Mail: stefanie.benz@aalen.de

Project coordination:

OstalbBürgerEnergie eG, Hans-Peter Weber, Bitte see 'Präsidium'., Im Hasennest 9, 73433 Aalen.
Tel.: 0160 97903186, Mail: hpweber@kabelbw.de

1. academic (allg.) partner:

Aalen University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Anna Nagl, Management Competence Center for Innovative Business Models, Beethovenstraße 1, 73430 Aalen, Tel.: 07361 576-4601, Mail: anna.nagl@hs-aalen.de

Cooperation partner, economy, business:

MAPAL Dr. Kress KG, Dr. Jochen Kress, Management, Obere Bahnstraße 13, 73431 Aalen
Tel.: 07361 585-0, Mail: Jochen.Kress@mapal.com

This scheme, enterprise, aim, goal is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the funding priority Social-Ecological Research under the supporter, sponsor code 01UV2046_ZB. The authors are responsible for the contents of this publication.