Elbmobil: The number of customers is falling, but soon new connections in Lüneburg!

Elbmobil: The number of customers is falling, but soon new connections in Lüneburg!

In recent years, the Elbmobil has developed into a central mobility solution in the Harburg district, but since the beginning of 2024 those responsible have been faced with a challenge: the number of users is falling. The national newspaper reports that the reasons for this decline are still unclear. A comprehensive analysis was commissioned to get to the bottom of the matter.

The Elbmobil, an on-demand bus service, started as a pilot project in the Elbmarsch municipality in December 2020 and was supported by the Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology. Initially, business was good, demand increased and passenger numbers reached a high of 132,000 uses to date. Passengers particularly enjoy the service times, comfort and value for money, but would like to have connections to other destinations said the district newspaper.

Expansion plans in the Lüneburg district

In order to counter the decline and increase the user base, an expansion of the Elbmobil towards Lüneburg is now being planned. Those responsible have already implemented the connection via bus route 539. In the future, the towns of Artlenburg and Lüdershausen will also be included, where passengers can seamlessly transfer to line 5900, which runs regularly to Lüneburg train station. These steps aim to create a better offer, especially for users of the eastern Elbmarsch, while the federal highway 404 represents the border with other regions notes the national newspaper.

The passengers have already actively participated in a survey to evaluate the Elbmobile. Almost 150 users registered within the first day. The survey runs until the end of March and aims to improve the offer for the benefit of passengers. Those responsible hope that the insights from the surveys will provide new impetus for projects such as on-demand transport in Salzhausen. The majority of passengers use the Elbmobile in the afternoon and evening, especially for leisure activities.

Financial aspects and user participation

The costs for the Elbmobil, which can carry up to seven passengers, are borne by the Harburg district, the Elbmarsch municipality and the city of Winsen. A no-show fee is being discussed as a possible financing option, which is due if passengers do not show up or cancel a booking late. This could help minimize the financial burden on the actors involved.

The planned results of the evaluation and optimization suggestions will be presented to the Harburg district public transport committee on August 19th so that the next steps can be clearly defined as the future network explains. The analyzes of the past few years and the feedback from users will probably also be incorporated into future planning for on-demand transport in order to further adapt public transport to the needs of citizens.