mytraQ

Product description

The perfect mobility assistant

In future, highQ will bundle all app developments related to the mobility platform under the brand name “mytraQ”. As pioneers of multimodal mobility, highQ developed a first mytraQ app (free of charge and completely free of license fees) as early as 2014. The app has been available in app stores ever since.

mytraQ enables you to flexibly combine different modes of transport. In the future, depending on the traffic and environmental situation, additional transport services such as eScooters, car sharing and carpooling options will be combined and networked. mytraQ provides users with real-time routing recommendations. At the same time, they can also pay for their tickets online, for example when switching from private cars to public transport. This is practical for the user and even better for the public transport operator, because in addition to payment, it also enables ticket control. And anyone who has mytraQ on their smartphone is offered the optimal route to their destination – preferably by bus or train.

 

Motivation for environmentally friendly mobility

And how can road users be motivated to adopt environmentally friendly mobility behaviour? How can they be persuaded to leave their own car at home more often and to travel multimodally, e.g. by public transport or car and bike sharing? Research results show: If an appropriate traffic supply is available in a conurbation, individual mobility behaviour in terms of traffic mode, route and time can be steered in the desired direction by means of ideal, monetary and virtual incentives. In this way, time mile incentives help to equalize local traffic flows and reduce the CO2 footprint of a municipality and/or a company. In practice, incentives can be implemented in the form of a regionally effective bonus system that is integrated into the mobility app of the road user.  Within the mytraQ app, we now also offer solutions for the optimisation of corporate mobility, the professional control of eTickets (with blocking lists and action list connection) and, of course, continuing to provide mobility for the common good for everyone. mytraQ - the name for mobility apps of highQ computer solutions.

Functions

Functions

We currently offer three versions of the mytraQ app family:

mytraQ

mytraQ enables the flexible combination of different modes of transport. In the future, depending on the traffic and environmental situation, additional transport services such as eScooters, car sharing and carpooling options will be combined and networked.

Get mytraQ for your smartphone or tablet. For Android in the Play Store and for iOS in the App Store

mytraQ biz

For municipalities, companies and industrial areas

Published by INRIX 2017, the “Traffic Scorecard” demonstrates the devastating effects of traffic jams in German cities. Motorists spend an average of 30 hours per year in traffic jams, while the direct and indirect costs caused by queues of cars amount to 80 billion euros. Municipalities and organisations in conurbations are struggling with increasing traffic volumes, before and during peak hours - traffic jams, parking problems and environmental pollution are the result.

However, experience has shown that companies sometimes cause these traffic jams themselves. Through conventional working time models and rigid working hours, they generate a high volume of traffic on the often limited approach roads, especially during rush hours – resulting in the collapse of the infrastructure. Employees arrive at work already stressed out and are less productive, while companies lose their attractiveness for skilled workers and investors.

highQ offers the solution in the form of a holistic mobility analysis and consultation service tailored to the individual needs of the company. The special feature, however, is the supplementary commuter mobility app, which optimally supports the mobility concept developed by the company. The app simplifies daily commuting by intelligently disentangling and possibly diverting traffic flows using software-based recommendations, thereby offering seamless connections from the front door to the workplace – in a multimodal and resource-saving manner.

Each employee is shown routes to work that are tailored to his or her needs, and can choose between them according to personal preferences – short travel time, low costs, own car, etc. Tickets for public transport and reservations for car and bike-sharing offers can be booked directly via the app. What’s more, employees can join together as a closed user group through a communication component to share their daily commute to work (carpooling).

Additional motivation to change their own travel behaviour is provided by the app’s integrated “time miles” bonus system. If commuters are willing to comply with the proposed mobility strategies (e.g. commuting outside rush hours, using an alternative route) and commute in a resource-saving way (carpooling, using public transport/bicycle/walking), they can earn time miles. These bonus points can subsequently be exchanged for rewards. The gamification approach also generates enthusiasm, as users can compare notes with each other in a playful way. Who’s collected the most time miles and received extra rewards? Who is “Time Miler of the Month”?

Companies benefit from the use of the commuter mobility app in many ways. For one thing, the work-life balance of their employees is significantly improved by a more flexible, self-determined and faster commute to work. The gamification approach transforms commuting, which is characterised by traffic jams and stress, into a fun experience by using the app, and employees can even win bonuses. Strain on the existing infrastructure of the companies is reduced, carpooling and public transport subsidies alleviate parking problems and the result is a reduction in costs.

Changing mobility behaviour and the positive effects on the environment can be visualised by reports from the app. This enables the respective company to communicate its sustainability commitment to the public. As a result, the company's image is enhanced and it becomes a more attractive proposition for recruiting highly qualified personnel. Moreover, communities benefit from the sustainable effects on traffic and reduced levels of noise and air pollution. Changes in mobility behaviour will thus have a lasting effect on protecting the environment.

The development of the mytraQ app is being supported under the SB:Digital research project as part of the “Future of Work” programme (https://sbdigital.infai.org/projekt/).

mytraQ pro

For transport companies and transport associations

Transport companies and transport associations benefit from this multimodal mobility assistant. mytraQ is not only suitable for buying tickets via smartphone, but can also be used for ticket control. All that is required is an RFID-capable smartphone – there is no need to invest in expensive control devices.

Even the last mile in the taxi is settled immediately and without complications with the transport companies via the mytraQ check-in/check-out procedure.

mytraQ for the last mile by taxi: If a customer chooses to finish his or her journey by taxi, the last mile is billed easily and comprehensibly. The check-in/check-out process is completed on the taxi driver’s smartphone using an NFC card. With mytraQ, the automatic billing between the taxi company and the transport association or transport company is always correct and transparent. Win-Win-Win: for customers, taxi companies and the transport association.

Zeitmeilen

Powerful incentives

Combining the functionalities of mytraQ with the app for incentive-based “time miles” travel management comes very close to being a universal mobility app. This networking of private motorised transport and public transport is lowering the entry barriers to public transport use.

How can transport users be motivated to adopt environmentally friendly mobility behaviour? How can they be persuaded to leave their cars at home more often and to make multimodal journeys, for instance by means of public transport or car and bike sharing? Research results are providing some valuable insights. If an appropriate transportation system is available in a conurbation, individual mobility behaviour can be steered in the desired direction in terms of transport mode, route and time by means of non-material, monetary and virtual incentives.

In this way, schemes like “time miles” incentives help to untangle local traffic flows and reduce the carbon footprint of a municipality and/or company. In practice, incentives can be implemented in the form of a regionally applicable bonus system that is integrated into the transport user’s mobility app.


News

New driving feeling in Münster thanks to networked mobility offers

First milestone of the mobility platform developed by highQ goes into real operation at the beginning of 2023

Following a Europe-wide tender, highQ received the order this spring to implement a mobility platform for Stadtwerke Münster (SWMS). As part of the project, which runs until the end of 2023, the local car-sharing service “LOOPmünster” as well as the e-scooter and bicycle rental service of the provider TIER are to be integrated into the platform. In spring 2023, passengers will be able to use an app to identify any intermodal routes to their destination and book and pay for the corresponding means of transport directly in the app. The inclusion of further mobility service providers and services in this ambitious mobility project is also firmly planned for 2024.

The aim of the new multimodal platform is to encourage commuters to switch from cars to more environmentally friendly modes of transport. Driving with the environmental network should be as uncomplicated as possible. This is why the national check-in/check-out tariff “eezy. NRW” is included in the project package, which enables public transport use without any knowledge of tariffs and thus makes it much more comfortable – creating a completely new public transport “driving feeling”. The project is funded by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Transport.

The first milestone of the new mobility platform based on the highQ MobilitySuite was delivered for approval testing by SWMS in November 2022. It includes the following functions:

  • Information about public transport and LOOPMünster (public transport) in the app
  • Integration of the CiCO system eezy. NRW
  • Intermodal information on combinations of LOOPMünster and public transport in the app
  • Combination of TIER and public transport
  • Display of TIER scooters and bicycles, booking and payment in the app
  • Choice of different means of payment
  • Single sign-on: one-time registration and login

Now comprehensive release tests are the next joint project step, so that the system can be put into real operation in 2023. We are also continuing to work on the background system to make the employee view of the various mobility products and bookings even clearer and more user-friendly.

The mobility of the future was experienced live at highQ

 

At InnoTrans 2022, highQ Computerlösungen presented innovative solutions for the networking of mobility live.

From 20 to 23 September 2022, highQ Computerlösungen GmbH presented its innovative applications for road users, mobility providers, associations, public utilities and transport companies at the world’s leading trade fair for transport technology InnoTrans in Berlin under the motto “The Future of Mobility – Experience Live”.

During numerous live lectures and with great support from our partners, the Bauhaus.MobilityLab and Stadtwerke Osnabrück, you could learn how you can become the market leader for mobility in your region with a mobility platform.

Among other things, our solutions for the mobility platform highQ MobilitySuite, the digital ticket counter Ticketoffice, revenue management, the gateway to the eTicketing IONgate and travel and duty planning with PlanB were presented. As pioneers of sustainable mobility, Stadtwerke Osnabrück presented how cities and rural districts together ensure smart mobility. Our research partner Bauhaus.MobilityLab showed its latest findings from the real-life laboratory in Erfurt's Brühl district for the development and testing of AI-based applications.

The interest was so great that the stand staff became scarce in the meantime. The two managing directors, Christian Disch and Thomas Hornig, are also very satisfied: “Besides our congress in June in Osnabrück, InnoTrans is another event highlight in 2022. We are enthusiastic about the interest in our solutions and have had many important and interesting discussions. This speaks for an eventful and successful trade fair and shows that our solutions meet the highest demands of the industry. ”

Another trade fair highlight for us and our guests was certainly the cocktail event on Wednesday afternoon at our highQ stand.

The future of mobility starts now

Congress in Osnabrück

highQ and Stadtwerke Osnabrück hosted the congress “The Future of Mobility – Experience Live”

The future of mobility was the focus of a two-day conference that took place on 2 and 3 June 2022 at the Alando Ballhaus in Osnabrück. The event was opened by the mayor of the city of Osnabrück Katharina Pötter, followed by a dedicated lecture by Anna Kebschull, County Councillor of the district of Osnabrück, on the integration of rural areas. Dr. Claas Beckord, Head of the Sustainable Urban Development Unit, then ranked the requirements for digitalization from the perspective of smart city development. Ulf Middelberg, as an eloquent opinion-maker for the mobility turnaround, presents an innovation impulse from the perspective of the Leipzig public transport companies. Before the lunch break, highQ held a presentation section, in which the highQ MobilitySuite as a platform for sustainable mobility solutions that conform to the common good, as well as the Zeitmiles Solution and the topic of highQ Social Mobility were part of the presentation.

In a panel discussion there was a lively debate on the subject of data protection vs. data treasure. Sascha Lobo gave a keynote address on “How the Net is Changing the World” about the importance of the digital world for the future of mobility. After a successful first day of the congress, moderated by Guido Cantz, the evening program took place in the Alando Palais.
There was also a lot of fun, as highQ also celebrated its 26th birthday – the day was rounded off with a comedy performance by Guido Cantz and the musical entertainment of the Rock`n ́Roll & Beat band „The KaiserBeats“.

The second day started with a presentation by Maik Blome, Head of Product Management and Digitalization at Stadtwerke Osnabrück AG, on the Osnabrück Mobility Portal and a stimulating contribution by Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer on the “temporal change” and the consequences for sustainable mobility.

The optimal integration of users was part of a panel discussion in which Christina Haspel (Head of the South Region of the Mittelstand 4. 0 Competence Center Usability, University of Media), Prof. Plank-Wiedenbeck (Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Bauhaus University Weimar), Werner Linnenbrink (Head of Mobility Services at Stadtwerke Osnabrück AG) and Dr. Katharina Peine as moderator discussed ways of achieving the best possible customer:internal benefits.

Afterwards, the participants were able to visit the partners and sponsors of the congress at different stations and get to know the application examples for cities as well as the employee portal and take a look at the background system. Experience live also meant that congress visitors had the opportunity to use the many services and offers already implemented in the greater Osnabrück area free of charge for five days.

highQ would like to thank its partners Stadtwerke Osnabrück AG, Fair City Partners, Bauhaus Mobility. Lab, ITS Germany e. V. , ZEITMEILEN AG and Prisma Solutions, as well as the team of Alando Osnabrück for their support.

[Translate to Englisch:]

Successful project start mytraQ VBB-prüfApp

Despite the adversities of Corona, the kick-off for the new project of highQ Computerlösungen GmbH with the VBB Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH was successfully carried out via a web meeting on 02.04.2020.

The scope of the project is the delivery of a VBB-prüfApp for inspectors for (partially) automated checking of the electronically stored contents of VDV barcodes and VDV user media for validity checks. The project has a duration until February 2021, already in the middle of 2020 first tests with the system will be carried out in the area. With initially up to 100 end devices (smartphone) and the highQ app mytraQ Pro, the verification of VDV

barcodes according to specifications of the VBB and VDV eTicket Service GmbH & Co. KG (VDV ETS) for all transport companies. From 2D barcodes to chip cards via NFC, in the final stage 500 devices can use the highQ solutions.

In addition to the app mytraQ Pro for the VBB-prüfApp, the highQ background systems fare.logiQ (for the administration of examiners and exams) and IONgate (for the connection to the VDV-KA, incl. the SAM server) are used. This is a good bridge to the TicketOffice for subscription/pupil card system that has been in use for many years at many transport companies in the VBB. Thomas Wanke, Branch Manager Berlin, is very pleased about this success: "Once again, highQ shows how we, with our product portfolio, make a significant contribution to the optimization of public transport processes. Only by using the already existing standard app mytraQ Pro can the VBB schedule be kept and the first tests can already be started. The app mytraQ Pro can also be used for the entire EBE process in the future to leverage further synergies.

[Translate to Englisch:]

Online mobility marketplace

city of the future

Making purchases via online trading platforms has permanently changed our habits. Never before has it been so convenient to order and pay for products from different suppliers via a single access point. In the future, it will be just as easy to use train, bus, car sharing and other public transportation services via a mobility platform developed by the IT company highQ Computerlösungen. Among the pioneers of this new, digitally networked mobility is the city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany.

 

“If you want to get people out of their cars, you have to make them a really attractive offer”, observed Thomas Hornig, Managing Director of highQ. The mobility specialists at the 60-strong Freiburg-based IT company have been thinking for many years about how a change towards more environmentally friendly forms of transport can be achieved. Their pivotal approach is a digital mobility platform on which all of a city’s transport services are combined under one (software) roof. Following a one-time registration with the platform (single sign-on), transportation users can then book any intermodal travel chain directly via an associated smartphone app.

 

This concept, also called “seamless mobility” by transport experts, is intended to compensate for the comfort advantage of the private car. “This is a great opportunity for transport companies to reposition themselves as comprehensive mobility service providers”, Thomas Hornig pointed out. highQ develops the necessary software modules for this type of networked transport service, for example to enable cross-supplier billing for the various transport services provided.

 

Osnabrück leads the way

Among the pioneers in this field is Stadtwerke Osnabrück (SWO), which has been implementing a comprehensive digitisation programme for urban mobility services for three years now. Based on the highQ platform concept, the system has so far integrated municipal bus services, local car sharing and municipal parking garages, with lockable bicycle shelters set to follow soon. “Thanks to the modular system structure, we can add further offers at any time, such as rental pedelecs and e-cargobikes”, explained Maik Blome, marketing and sales manager for SWO’s mobility services. “Following a one-time registration, our customers then have access to all transportation offerings.”

 

A service that appears so simple for the end user required a considerable amount of effort before it could be achieved. In particular, heterogeneous IT inventory systems needed to be linked via adapted interfaces so that the flow of data between the various Osnabrück mobility providers could run smoothly. The implementation of the entire system was carried out under the leadership of highQ as general contractor. According to Maik Blome, this proved to be a good decision: “We always had one central contact person for any questions or problems.”

 

One swipe and off you go

The Osnabrück mobility platform is scheduled to go into full operation in the course of 2020. As well as being able to use all modes of transport across all providers, this includes a new type of ticket system. The check in/check out ticketing system makes bus travel much more convenient for occasional passengers. When boarding the bus, a swipe of the smartphone is all that is required – and that’s it. The system itself determines where you change and get off and automatically calculates the price for the distance covered. A further advantage for passengers is “best price” invoicing. All individual journeys completed within a certain period of time are retrospectively charged to a day or week ticket – meaning that customers always receive the cheapest ticket. “With this system, we in Osnabrück are a nationwide pioneer”, Maik Blome explained.

 

With its mobility platform, the city in Lower Saxony has also prepared the way for the digital future of local transportation. Maik Blome offered a foretaste of how things will be by 2030: “Public transport in Osnabrück will be networked, digital, electric and autonomous, providing passengers with a seamless, multimodal mobility chain from door to door.” In the future, this will include on-demand, non-timetabled services for the last mile. Blome summarised the city’s ambitious goal: “We aim to make public mobility in Osnabrück so easy and convenient that you will never miss your car again.”

 

Rewarding sensible mobility behaviour

Experience shows that it is difficult to persuade die-hard drivers to switch to public transport, even with the best offer. For this reason, highQ has developed an even more far-reaching strategy that includes private cars in the mobility mix in addition to the means of transport provided by the environmental alliance. The concept is to use highQ’s mytraQ app to provide commuters with individual travel recommendations based on current traffic data and the behaviour of other mytraQ users. If traffic is congested somewhere, the app suggests less congested alternative routes or recommends switching to public transport, car sharing or a combination of different modes of transport.

 

Anyone who follows the app’s advice is rewarded twice over. For a start, they reach their destination quickly and without stress. In addition, they are credited with “time mile”, which can later be exchanged for free journeys, free parking periods or shopping discounts. Research results confirm that this type of bonus system works. Provided that a conurbation has sufficient public transport, monetary or non-cash incentives can be used to steer individual mobility behaviour in the desired direction in terms of choice of transport mode, route and time of day. The concept has already been thoroughly tested in Stuttgart under the project name “moveBW” and will soon be put into live operation.

 

Apart from the road users themselves, the cities benefit too by evening out traffic flows in terms of time and space and distributing them more evenly over the existing infrastructure. However, commercial enterprises can also use “time miles” to motivate their employees to use bicycles more frequently or to form car pools, thereby improving the efficiency of parking space management and their environmental balance. As highQ Managing Director Thomas Hornig concluded: “In any case, it makes more sense to invest a comparatively small amount in intelligent mobility than to invest huge sums in additional roads or parking spaces.”

References

Awards

Smartphone ticketing with mytraQ

In 2015, the Verkéiersverbond Luxembourg received several awards for its mytraQ variant mTicket App. In February, it won the Best m-Government Service Award in Dubai and in May the Best Practice Award Urban Telematics in Berlin.

The innovative mobile solution enables paperless and forgery-proof ticketing via smartphone. Luxembourg is an example of a region in which there is a major daily flow of cross-border commuters. A shift from private transport to public local, regional and long-distance transport can only be achieved with easy-to-use ticketing offers for occasional travellers. A second app provides passengers with comprehensive information on the entire range of available mobility services, while the mTicket app makes access to mobility much easier.

Thomas Hornig, Managing Partner of highQ GmbH, is delighted about the awards: “Winning these two prizes shows that we have developed a truly innovative solution.” Gilles Dostert, Director General of Verkéiersverbond Luxembourg, added: “We want to offer a well-thought-out public solution in Luxembourg as an alternative to private motorised transport. This makes smooth cooperation between different transport service providers indispensable. We have achieved this through our offer and also through the tariff union. With the mTicket app, we aim to convince even more people of the simplicity of using public transport.”

mTicket is a variant of highQ's multimodal mobility assistant mytraQ, which was developed in cooperation with the Karlsruhe-based software company INIT AG.

Customer opinions

“We are proud of the new, jointly developed Sylt shuttle booking system and, at the same time, we can look back on a truly long-standing collaboration since 2001. Thanks to the company’s expertise, highQ has been able to keep our system up to date over the past two decades through continuous further development – in the fast-moving IT world, this is certainly anything but the norm.”

 

Thomas Hellwig, Project Leader at DB Fernverkehr AG



Contact

Do you have questions about mytraQ? Katharina Peine and her team will be happy to answer your questions.

 

Dr. Katharina Peine

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+49 (0) 761 70 60 40

     

 

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