Anyone who travels across regional borders with public transport knows that there is a jungle of different tariff areas and providers. Free Now now wants to provide an overview.
The mobility platform Free Now also wants to offer tickets for local public transport via its own app. In Germany, the company is starting a cooperation with the Düsseldorf Rheinbahn this week, as Free Now announced on Wednesday.
Tickets for single trips, day and 48-hour passes are then available via the app for the entire tariff zone of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR). Other fare zones are to follow soon.
“We are in talks with other cities,” said Free-Now boss Thomas Zimmermann of the German Press Agency. “Our focus is on the metropolitan areas, wherever we operate anyway.”
Sensitive topic
Free Now is already arranging trips with taxis, e-scooters or rental cars on its own platform. With the first public transport offers, the company is launching a sensitive topic for the local transport industry. Trade associations and some politicians have long criticized the nationwide confusion with hundreds of different fare zones and transport companies, each with their own sales channels.
A nationwide uniform online platform for buying public transport tickets does not yet exist. Deutsche Bahn, which sells local transport tickets from numerous associations via the Navigator app, comes closest to this claim. Otherwise, consumers have to download the apps of the respective companies.
Free Now wants to fill this gap. “Most companies and associations have their own digital offer, but this is regionally limited and usually only includes public transport – no other mobility offers,” said Zimmermann. Free Now wants to make public transport easier to access. “We appeal to see ourselves not as competition, but as an opportunity to expand access.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
