M21 : A TELEMATICS-BASED MOBILITY SERVICE FOR COMMUTER TRAFFIC

Abstract

The of Baden-Wuttemberg, DaimlerChrysler AG and other partner companies have been developing and testing new telematics-supported mobility services in the Stuttgart region to ease road congestion due to commuter traffic since 1998. The 'M21' project is a public-private partnership which set out to field test a package of mobility services in order to achieve optimal technical and organisational effeciency for a market launch. The core of the 'M21' package is the flexible, substantially automated and up-to-date brokering of car pooling opportunities in commuter traffic. The service is supplemented by the car-navigation-system 'teleShuttle', up-to-date traffic information, short-term vehicle rental and 'tele-Shopping' service. In the first stage of the 'M21' project, the new mobility services are being tested using personnel at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart. An expansion of this trial to other companies and organizations in the Stuugart is envisaged as of 2001. Following completion of the project in December 2001, M21' is to be fully privatized with the aim of offrering the new mobilityservices in other densely populated regions. The total costs of the pilot project amounting to approximately 10 Euro, are being borne with a one-third share each by the State of Baden-Wurttemberg, DaimlerChrysler AG and partner companies which include the future private-sector service provider.