Multimodal Journey Planning: Your path to flexible mobility

To get to the next public transportation stop on the way to the destination, people most often use cars (park and ride) and bikes (bike and ride). MENTZ’s multimodal information finds the best connection for each of these options. It also takes into account what stops have suitable parking options.

A rental bike can get your passengers to the next public transportation stop (first mile) or from the last stop to their destination (last mile). Or they can go the whole way by bike. MENTZ’s multimodal information is suited to both station-based rental systems and to systems that allow bikes to be parked anywhere. The interfaces to bike sharing providers show in real time what bikes are available.

On routes with intermittent service or service at the beginning and end of the day only, a car can be a useful complement to public transportation. At the same time, it should not be a replacement. The router for MENTZ’s multimodal information can therefore be configured to fit the car-sharer’s strategy: The car can, for instance, get passengers to and from the stop given a certain route length or whenever no public transportation connection provides service in a comparable time.

A comparison between a car and public transportation shows that, on most routes, the car per se is the faster alternative. However, it is not usual for everything to run smoothly. MENTZ multimodal information therefore takes the current traffic situation into account when it makes recommendations with respect to deviating trip times and planned or unplanned road closures. The electronic schedule information router can take into account historical data and real-time data when planning private transport routes.

If the passenger reaches the destination by car, finding a parking spot can significantly influence the duration and cost of the trip. So if real-time information about the parking situation is available, the electronic schedule information router takes it into account. In a park-and-ride scenario, for instance, the router takes the passenger only to parking facilities that still have free spaces. If only a few spots are still open, the user receives a warning.