In rural regions and cities alike, there is a growing need for flexible, efficient and accessible transportation solutions. Especially in regions with a lower population density or during off-peak times, demand-responsive transit offers an important complement to public transportation. It can close existing gaps that conventional transport systems are often unable to close.
Thanks to the success of numerous pilot projects, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Employment, Technology and Tourism of the State of Schleswig-Holstein has decided to launch a state-wide demand responsive transit service that will serve as an umbrella brand under which counties and independent cities can operate their own services.
NAHSHUTTLE is your experienced partner for demand-responsive transit in the true north. We support your county and city in the introduction of flexible and future-oriented demand-responsive services, from defining the service area and using our state-wide app to operational matters and marketing strategies.
Demand-responsive transit (ODV; also known as on-demand mobility or ridepooling) is a flexible means of transport that adapts to the wishes of passengers.
It is not intended to replace public transport, but rather to supplement it.
As part of numerous pilot projects in Schleswig-Holstein, we have proven that demand-responsive transit can be an effective solution for people’s mobility needs.
In view of all these positive results, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Employment, Technology and Tourism of the State of Schleswig-Holstein has decided to launch a state-wide demand-responsive transit service that can serve as an umbrella brand under which counties and independent cities can operate their own services: NAHSHUTTLE
Since August 2020, we have been supporting counties, independent cities and municipalities in setting up their own demand-responsive transit services. We provide our software specifically for this purpose.
The remo pilot project was launched in Rendsburg in August 2021, acting as a useful supplement to public transport in the evenings and at night. The service now operates under the name NAHSHUTTLE.
The smart villageSHUTTLE was launched in Amt Süderbrarup in December 2021 and complements the existing public transport services in rural areas. The vehicles are now part of the SMILE24 project under the name NAHSHUTTLE.
The Lüttbus was launched in April 2023 in the Bredstedt region in the district of Nordfriesland in conjunction with the on-call bus to support public transport in rural areas.
Due to the success of the previous projects, SMILE24 received federal funding in the Schlei-region. It offers a demand-responsive service for an area larger than Hamburg and is integrated into a holistic 24/7 concept.
Our long-term goal is to integrate the NAHSHUTTLE app into our multimodal NAH.SH app, which will offer all mobility services available in the State of Schleswig-Holstein.
We have already procured the relevant licenses from our software provider ioki in order to enable other regions to plan and carry out journeys efficiently.
Marketing for our statewide demand-responsive transit service is carried out at the state level with the support of a central marketing agency.
We can help you thanks to our many years of expertise in the field of public transportation and demand-responsive transit.
You can benefit from the advantages of working with numerous other partners.
The counties and independent cities are responsible for ordering and implementing local public transport services in Schleswig-Holstein. They are the sole decision-makers when it comes to public transport in their respective regions, and this also applies to demand-responsive transit services such as NAHSHUTTLE.
The NAH.SH and the State of Schleswig-Holstein provide the software infrastructure for NAHSHUTTLE and serves as an advisory body for the establishment of a demand-responsive transit service, which should be well integrated into the existing public transport network. However, neither the State nor the NAH.SH makes any decisions regarding the implementation of the operation of such transport services.
Before a demand-responsive transit service area can be included in the NAHSHUTTLE-family, you must carry out an initial comprehensive needs analysis in which demographic, socioeconomic, geographical and economic structures, as well as existing transport services, are analyzed.
If a region is assessed as suitable, the counties and independent cities can approach the NAH.SH to submit a service area proposal. A comprehensive mobility analysis is then carried out for the counties and independent cities.
Our team supports the decision making and planning process in terms of how best to implement the service, as well as providing advanced feedback on how to connect the new demand-responsive service to the existing public transportation network. This is done together with our colleagues from the fixed-route bus division, who have an expert understanding of the existing network.
We also assist in establishing a service area and we definine geographical boundaries, assess community needs, analyze population density and regional demographics, identify key destinations and connect to other transport modes such as bus, rail and/or bike- and car-sharing.
Based on our many years of experience in the field of public transport and demand-responsive transit, we can help you to define the budget for the launch and operation of your service in more detail.
It is necessary to agree on a variety of details with local authorities:
The predefined decisions and available options must be presented to and approved by local policymakers.
You will receive extensive training on the software: We will instruct users on how to use the operating software and grant them access to the platform.
Now you can start configuring the service area, the virtual stops, parameters such as the maximum detour, waiting and boarding time in coordination with our software provider ioki in order to achieve, among other things, the best possible pooling rate.
We’ll help you with the implementation and operations of your own
demand-responsive transit service: