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RIDE2RAIL demo in Brno concluded, testing Travel Companion and Driver Companion applications

05/01/2023

After earlier concluding its demos in Athens (July 2022) and Helsinki (October 2022), the RIDE2RAIL Consortium has now also completed its demo in Brno, Czech Republic. Held from 31 October to 13 November 2022, the demo saw the testing of both the Shift2Rail Travel Companion app, as well as the Driver Companion App, among real travellers. The demo was led by partners OLTIS Group, UNIZA, and KORDIS as a supporter (having signed the Letter of support).

Held in the South Moravian Region, the Brno demo focused on commuters (employees, students, others) travelling from the Znojmo district to the city of Brno. The goals of the demo were as follows:

  • To motivate commuters travelling solely by car to switch to also using public transport (travelling from home to public transport hub by car, after switching to public transport)
  • To encourage those car drivers who travel alone to share the capacity of their car with other travellers
  • To reduce GHG emissions and also traffic and parking congestions

Before kicking off the testing, citizens in the region were informed about the demo via various dissemination channels such as printed and electronic leaflets distributed in public transport vehicles and via social media and local websites. An online training session was organised, presenting the Brno demo and explaining the apps’ functionalities.

In total, 60 testers participated in the demo, of which 40 only as a passenger, 5 only as a driver. 15 testers were involved in both passenger and driver roles. All these testers made altogether 1.946 trips, of which 76 trips were carried out as shared rides.

During the execution, testing with the selected participants took place under the supervision of OLTIS Group and UNIZA. In particular, the demonstration scenario of the journey from Znojmo to Brno with intermediate stops was tested. The pictures below illustrate the testing.

After using the applications, travellers were asked to complete a survey sharing their experiences. From the testers’ perspective, both applications are user-friendly and easy to use. The testers also highlighted the advantages of these solutions such as the integration of all transport modes into one travel solution or the possibility to share rides, and thus save costs.

Finally, another interesting result was that thanks to the shared rides it proved possible to reduce the need for parking spaces (up to 28 fewer spaces throughout the testing period).

In the coming months, the final RIDE2RAIL demo will be held in Padua, Italy. Stay tuned for more results!

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