On three dates, these topics were highlighted within the public colloquium of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft GmbH (MVG). Experts provided insights into research and practice and answered questions from the audience. 

On Tuesday, 08 November 2022, Dr. Kathrin Risom (Executive Director SIXT share & Mobility Platform) offered insights into the concept of SIXT share. SIXT is probably known to most people as a big player in the car rental sector. However, with SIXT share, the company now wants to take advantage of a large fleet of vehicles and integrate them into the car-sharing sector. Shared mobility was mentioned as a keyword at this point. With the characteristics "attractive, convenient, fast and transparent", SIXT share should and wants to make an impression on customers and drive the mobility turnaround. Through collaborations with stakeholders from the private-economic and public sectors, work is being done for the future to design a mobility mix with primarily collective and shared solutions for citizens. This, of course, will require close collaboration to provide the intermodal chains, according to Dr. Risom. We're excited to see what's next for SIXT share! 

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Dr. Thomas Klinger and Anna-Lena van der Vlugt (LS Research Group Mobility and Space, Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research GmbH) talked about walkability. Walkability can be translated as pedestrian friendliness. The difference between planned and perceived walkability was looked at in more detail. Especially the walks that were conducted with people with limited mobility (seniors, blind people, and people in wheelchairs) within a research project were very interesting and informative. The respective persons were accompanied by researchers and they talked about "getting around in the city", and walking daily routes. Thus, through an active conversation, it was possible to address deficiencies in the street space that limit mobility. A third person, who only observed and listened, wrote a protocol so that afterwards all the thoughts and topics of conversation could be analyzed. The talk was very informative and it was nice to hear opinions about the cityscape from a different perspective.

The last meeting was held on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. MVG internally was found a topic that has received a lot of public attention. The new bus depot "Hybrid.M" in Moosach, which will be put into operation in June 2022, was presented by Jan Stohrer (Project Manager Infrastructure Projects, MVG) and Alexander Wolf (Division Manager Bus Technology, MVG). Mr. Stohrer gave a general insight into the project: Located in an inner courtyard, the new bus depot was designed, which replaces the old one in Munich West. Encompassing the courtyard and at the same time serving as noise protection, a shell building was planned, which offers space for MVG-internal as well as external office rooms. In addition, an elevated car garage is located at one corner of the site, which provides charging infrastructure for cars or can provide it with a short retrofitting time thanks to cable ducts that have already been laid. Mr. Wolf then went into the technical details. Since the electrification of public transport vehicles requires corresponding charging infrastructure, the entire area was planned accordingly. MVG relies here on depot charging, i.e., the buses are charged overnight. The waste heat generated by charging the vehicles is further utilized. The charging time and how much battery is needed for the operating time are calculated by an all-encompassing charging management system (LMS). The LMS is integrated into a digitization project, which at the same time attacks the digitization of the entire bus depot. Under the motto "If then already everything" (quote Mr. Wolf), the workshop operation as well as the management system for the bus depot will also be designed online. A detailed lecture gave insights into the life of a bus depot. 

We would like to thank the organisers of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Stadtwerke München (SWM) / Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) and, of course, the speakers for three very interesting lectures and look forward to the continuation of the public colloquium of TUM and MVG in the summer semester of 2023!

ALL PHOTOS FROM OPENLAB URBAN MOBILITY

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