Moia very successful (2019)

D he VW subsidiary Moia transported around with its Crafter-based electric minibuses 770,000 passengers, the fleet has since doubled from 100 to 200 vehicles.

Around 260,000 customers have already registered with the Moia app for the transport service provider - their ratings average a very good 4.8 out of a maximum of five possible stars. The number of passengers grew from 92,000 in May 2019 to 159,000 in September - 86,000 passengers used the service in the first half of October. According to VW, 60 percent of the trips were shared. This means that more than one person can book the desired trip at the same time, which saves costs.

Clever Shuttle clearly beaten

After the brilliant start, VW is planning a further expansion of Moia in Hamburg , while the railway subsidiary Clever Shuttle is saying goodbye to the Hanseatic city and other locations due to the pressure of competition. In Berlin, for example, VW did not get an operating license for Moia because Clever Shuttle and the BerlKönig service operated by the Berlin transport company (BVG) are already on the road there. Clever Shuttle still wants to hold Berlin, should the Bahn subsidiary also give up the capital, the way there might be free for Moia.

Moia expands its service considerably

Moia would like to have its service by 2020 Hamburg's bus fleet will more than double to 500 vehicles, which would mean the maximum number approved so far. 600 drivers are currently working for the service provider, with 500 vehicles VW needs 1,500 drivers. According to Volkswagen, it is currently difficult to find enough drivers. The growth of the fleet is accompanied by a planned expansion of the business area from 200 to 300 square kilometers.

At the beginning of 2020, the first results of studies are to be available that will examine the effects of shared taxi services (ride sharing) on ​​traffic and Investigate the environment of a large city.

How Moia works

With the Moia ride-sharing service, VW wants to minimize individual traffic in cities with electric shuttles. The e-car offers luxury public transport at the push of a button. Hamburg had issued the first permit for April 2019, albeit with a limit of 200 vehicles. Moia is now allowed to expand its fleet to 500 shuttles.

Just a few days before the introduction of the shuttle service, a taxi company filed a lawsuit against the new competition. Because the Hamburg administrative court was not in an urgent procedure at the timecould adequately check whether the Moia offer curtails the rights of taxi operators, the e-shuttle fleet was initially limited. The limit has now been lifted by the Higher Administrative Court. Accordingly, Moia is now allowed to use 500 vehicles as planned.

Moia originally applied for the operation of a fleet of 1,000 vehicles. The traffic trade supervisory authority initially only approved 500 cars for the ongoing test run. If everything goes well, another 500 shuttles could go into operation from 2021.

This can also be understood as a concession to the taxi industry, which has a new competitor on the road with Moia. For this reason, the authorities attach great importance to the fact that a Moia trip can only be booked via the app. Spontaneous boarding is still the advantage of local buses or a taxi that you wave to.

Electric Crafter as a luxury bus

The Moia Shuttle based on the Crafter bus is fully electric en route and offers space for up to six people. Its range according to WLTP is 300 kilometers. The luxury bus should be charged up to 80 percent in around 30 minutes. Luxury bus? Yes, the Crafter's interior concept has been revised for use in public transport. Free-standing seats can be easily reached from the sliding door and there is ample legroom. Each place has dimmable reading lights and USB ports. There is also fast WiFi on board. The luggage is stored next to the driver in a separate area that can be viewed at any time. Visually, the Moia Shuttle differs from VW Bus by a slightly different front with the “Moia” logo and a new bumper. The side is characterized by deep windows, the rear is dominated by narrow strips of light.

At the end of 2018, Moia was able to start a test operation in Hamburg with pre-registered passengers. The price was allowed to be a maximum of 30 cents per kilometer and passenger. According to a statement, the approval is based on 'the Passenger Transport Act'. This means, for example, that the Moia driver must have a passenger transport license in addition to the driver's license.

In addition to being used as a modern shared taxi, Moia also got permission to use the vehicles as rental cars. This is necessary when a passenger books a trip and does not allow any other people to board. For example, as a group of work colleagues after a business meeting, you can pre-order the electric Moia bus instead of a large-capacity taxi.

But the project is not just limited to the Hanseatic city, VW wants the service, including other vehicles Offer in additional European and US cities in 2025. Until then, the mobility startup wants to be the market leader, the group said at the Tech Crunch Disrupt in London. But what does Moia do? The establishment of his new mobility service providerMoia announced Volkswagen during a technology conference in London. The independent company is based in Berlin and is, if you will, the group's thirteenth brand. Volkswagen is reacting to changing needs: 'Even if not everyone will have their own car in the future, with Moia we want to contribute to everyone being able to be a customer of our company in one way or another,' said VW boss Matthias Müller.

Daimler has been doing this for some time with the mobility service provider and the “moovel” app. Moia will and should work in a similar way.

Moia mediates rides via app

First, Moia should mediate rides via Gett app. The so-called “ride hailing” is intended to provide access to journeys, delivery services and logistics services in 100 cities worldwide. The second business area, pooling, also works via an app. This is to avoid single trips in cities. The main differences between the two business areas: Ride Hailing arranges trips within the city and pooling beyond. In Hamburg, the mobility partnership is to run for three years.

The new company is to use the possibilities of the other 12 group brands and bring customers to the VW group who do not want to buy a car.

Boss of the startup is Ole Harms. The management also consists of CFO Frank Dilger and COO Robert Henrich. The company starts on January 1, 2017 with 50 employees and is expected to grow rapidly: By 2025, Moia is expected to generate “a substantial proportion of sales” in the group. “In the medium term, we want to develop into one of the top global players among mobility service providers. We will recruit the best minds and technology start-ups for this, ”says Harms.

New money for Clever Shuttle

Clever Shuttle has not yet given up. According to media reports, the service provider has now raised new capital. The Japanese conglomerate Mitsui has a stake of around 12 percent in the company. The share of the still largest shareholder, Deutsche Bahn, will be reduced from 80 to 76 percent due to the capital increase.

Terms explained: Our mobility dictionary

• 'Car-Sharing': In German: 'Auto parts'. Car sharing is the organized sharing of a car. The best-known car-sharing providers include car2go from Daimler, DriveNow! from BMW or Flinkster from Deutsche Bahn.
• 'Ride-Sharing': In German: 'Seat sharing'. This term includes, on the one hand, the classic 'ride-sharing option', i.e. the provision of seats in your own car for passengers with the same destination. The controversial transport service provider Uber and its service “UberPop”, which is banned in many places, also falls into this grid to a certain extent, even if the term “ride hailing” fits better. automobilesummon '. This term applies above all to the classic taxi. But UberPop and GETT mediate private vehicles (via app) for commercial passenger transport with fixed fees, but see themselves more as “ride sharing” companies.
• “Last Mile”: Last mile, last part of the way ”: The“ last mile ”describes the last part of the way that you have to cover to get to your actual destination. Example: You land at the airport, but you still have to get to the hotel 12 kilometers away - that would be the “last mile”. Many mobility service providers are arguing about this 'last mile'.