What is MultiDEPART?

MultiDEPART (Multi-operator tool for managing Demand Responsive Transport) is a project funded by the EIT Urban Mobility.

The project is developed by a consortium of 12 partners from different European countries. The consortium bring together Universities, Research centers, transport operators, public authorities and industry players.

DRT services are living a gathering momentum in Europe, especially in medium and small size cities and low-density suburbs surrounding large metropolitan areas. DRT, also known as Bus On Demand or Microtransit, allows the provision of public transport service through flexible routes and schedules, based on actual demand collected from users through digital or other communication tools.A concept widely known and exploited for many years in rural areas (mostly based on telephone calls and manual routing of the services), has a growing potential to solve accessibility to urban low-demand areas thanks to digitalization of public transport and mass adoption of mobile phone by many segments of population.

MultiDEPART will develop tools to plan, manage and monitor DRT solutions, which will be applied to Lisbon, Barcelona Metropolitan Area and Thessaloniki, targeting Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) and facilitate the harmonization and scalability of DRT services across European cities.

What is the Workshop about?

As a part of MultiDEPART project, a series of surveys to key stakeholders (end-users, technology providers, public transport operators) have been done and analysed in order to obtain further information on typologies of DRT services and their acceptance. The workshop is organised and coordinated by CARNET (Future Mobility Research Hub). FACTUAL will be moderating the workshop in which the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Center of Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) will present a detailed analysis and results of surveys followed by an open Q&A session to all workshops participants.