9 March 2020 (Lübeck, Germany)-- ViaVan, Europe’s leader in public mobility solutions, announces a new partnership with Stadtverkehr Lübeck (SVHL) to power its LÜMO service using ViaVan’s technology for on-demand shared rides. The service will be available on weekend evenings, designed to fill the gaps when public transport is less available, thereby both complementing and extending the existing public transport infrastructure in Lübeck.
“We are proud that SVHL has entrusted ViaVan to take LÜMO to the next level. Our partnership represents an opportunity for technology to expand the reach of public transit at times where it is traditionally more limited,” said Chris Snyder, ViaVan CEO. “As cities and public transit authorities across Germany continue to look for efficient, convenient, and sustainable ways to offer their residents cross-city connectivity at all hours, on-demand technology is the solution.”
Using the LÜMO mobile app, passengers will select a pickup and dropoff location within the service zone and confirm their ride. Once a ride is booked, ViaVan’s advanced technology matches multiple passengers headed in the same direction into a single vehicle. By routing vehicles in real-time, ViaVan is able to minimize detours, reducing added vehicle miles while providing a highly efficient rider experience.
As an extension to the congestion and emission reducing benefits of ViaVan’s technology for shared rides, the service currently uses and will continue to use electric vehicles.
Riders without a public transit ticket will pay a base fare of €2.60 per person, plus €1 per kilometer. The base fare is waived for public transit ticket holders to encourage riders to utilize LÜMO 2.0 as one of many public transit offerings available to them throughout the week.
The service will operate Friday and Saturday evenings from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and serves as an affordable offering for students, residents, and visitors traveling across Lubeck for leisure activities in the late evening hours.
ViaVan powers dynamic mobility services across Germany, including the award-winning BerlKönig in Berlin and BerlKönig B/C in Brandenberg, both with Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). ViaVan has provided more than 1.5 million rides in Berlin, with nights and weekends proving to be a popular use case for the BerlKönig. ViaVan recently launched a service in Bielefeld with moBiel, powers corporate mobility services for BASF and Daimler, and will launch an on-demand service in Oberhausen with STOAG in the coming months.
About ViaVan:
ViaVan is the leading provider of innovative on-demand shared transit services in Europe. ViaVan was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between Via, the world’s most sophisticated developer of dynamic shared rides technology, and Mercedes-Benz Vans, the leading manufacturer of iconic passenger and cargo vans. Working closely with cities and public transit operators, ViaVan powers dynamic mobility services that complement existing transportation infrastructure. ViaVan currently operates direct-to-consumer services in London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Milton Keynes. Through their partnership, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via are also collaborating on the development of advanced mobility solutions, from sensor technology, to electric vehicle fleet management, to autonomous driving. Globally, ViaVan and parent company Via have been tapped by cities and transportation players to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. With more than 100 launched and pending deployments in 20 countries, Via and ViaVan have provided more than 70 million rides to date.