New Initiative for Smart Mobility in the Karlsruhe Region

Karlsruhe, Germany, 04.07.2016. At the end of June, Vincent Kobesen, CEO of the PTV Group, and Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup announced closer cooperation for the development of Smart Mobility. The goal is to establish a real-time traffic prediction system for the Karlsruhe Technology Region. This system will help enhance Karlsruhe as the leading Smart City in Germany and market the region and its technologies internationally.

Mobility, entrepreneurship and an openness to innovative concepts have a long tradition in the Karlsruhe Technology Region. On the occasion of the dedication of the modernized PTV building, there was a podium discussion on the topic “The future of mobility in the Karlsruhe region.” CEO Vincent Kobesen informed the audience that PTV will assist the city of Karlsruhe with the development of a modern, real-time traffic information system, prediction software and data platform.

“We want Karlsruhe to become the model exemplar of what is a Smart City. It will also act as an international flagship project. We as PTV Group will invest to support our local region. We will continue to enhance our transport planning and traffic management software and jointly contribute towards establishing a state of the art traffic prediction platform in Karlsruhe’s traffic centre”, explains Kobesen. This includes the integration of real-time data, as well as the product PTV Optima, which will be used to support traffic management in real time.

“We already have agreements from leading data suppliers to supply this flagship project with appropriate traffic information and mobility data. The city will retain responsibility on the traffic management measures that will ultimately be implemented. Kobesen continues, “We stand ready to assist the city in planning measures and simulating their possible effects to encourage smart, real-time decision making”.

From Karlsruhe to the whole world

Every Smart City needs a smart mobility concept. And both the city and the technology provider PTV Group are extremely well-positioned for this. Now at the newly renovated company’s headquarters on the east side of Karlsruhe, PTV is investing in a new, representative exhibition room called the “Mobility Lab”. In this lab, interested parties from around the world can experience first-hand the new Karlsruhe smart mobility concepts virtually. For clarity, the Karlsruhe city traffic management unit will maintain operational control of the proposed system and actual day-to-day traffic management.

Mayor Frank Mentrup is pleased: “I greatly appreciate the PTV Group’s great commitment to its home town. As a world market leader and with its recognised reputation as an experienced traffic and transport specialist, PTV will help us establish Karlsruhe as the model of a Smart City on the international stage.

Both sides welcomed the joint creation of this new and exciting promotion of what the Karlsruhe Technology Region has to offer. The coordination of actual tasks related to the agreement were kicked off at the end of June. The conditions and precise implementation plan are being formulated jointly. The PTV Group’s goal is to go live with the new Karlsruhe real-time traffic prediction platform at the start of 2017.