Hamburg tests combining goods and passenger trips

In spring 2024, Hamburg piloted the combination of goods and passenger trips using an on-demand mobility service. The pilot ran from 25 March to 31 May 2024 and involved a sample of 153 deliveries. Of these, 90 % were carried out using the MOIA on-demand shuttle service, while the remainder was handled by classical public transport and a second on-demand taxi service. Delivery staff accompanied the shipments, boarding the respective vehicles along with the goods. To ensure a sufficiently large number of deliveries, the pilot included simulated deliveries based on data from actual inner-city courier operations. Real-world deliveries were conducted for two social welfare organisations distributing donations. Couriers connected to the shuttle service on foot or by scooter.

Findings from the pilot indicate that using an on-demand shuttle service for transporting goods can be a competitive business model compared to classical delivery services in terms of travel time and costs. However, waiting times and costs for staff accompanying the shipments require further optimisation.

Melanie Leonhard, Hamburg’s Senator for Economics and Innovation, said: “Our goal is to lower CO₂ emissions and congestion in our city. This is why we are rethinking last-mile logistics and developing innovative solutions.” The pilot was a collaboration involving the City District Authority Altona, the Senate Chancellery, the Ministry of Economics and Innovation, HafenCity University, DB InfraGo AG, and Smart City|DB.

The initiative to combine goods and passenger trips on the same transport service forms part of Hamburg’s involvement in the Horizon 2020 MOVE21 project. Hamburg has also tested transporting retail store purchases for customers to a bus stop of their choice via public transport.

Author: Claus Koellinger

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.