Intelligent mobility planned in advance

Yesterday, Magdeburg played host to the inaugural Central German Conference on Intelligent Mobility. This joint event was organised by Otto von Guericke University (OVGU) and Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA GmbH), and was held as part of the Intelligent Mobility Network Initiative (NIIMO). Around 160 participants from Germany and other European countries gathered at the Magdeburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The agenda included issues relating to the economic and social benefits of autonomous transport in public transport, and findings on these topics from individual regions and countries were made available to conference participants. The importance of networking research (University of Magdeburg) and practice (NASA GmbH) in the field of intelligent mobility for developing new solutions was emphasised, as was the promising path that Saxony-Anhalt is on towards the future.

In his welcome address, Sven Haller (State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Digital Affairs) outlined his vision for Saxony-Anhalt as a laboratory for the future of connected mobility. 'Our goal is to help shape the future of automated and connected driving,' he said. Automated transport offers Saxony-Anhalt the opportunity to provide comprehensive mobility despite demographic change and staff shortages. Mobility means freedom. This freedom also includes having a genuine choice of transport options. We want the people of Saxony-Anhalt to be able to choose freely from all forms of mobility in the future. This requires well-developed infrastructure, including cycle paths, roads, and attractive, barrier-free public transport services. We are working on this. Every day.

The next step is to further develop automated driving through concrete projects and initiatives in the coming years, so that it becomes a standard public transport service. The insights gained from the conference will provide participants with a solid foundation on which to build. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in two years' time.