100 days as CEO of the new, soon to-be REACH NOW – A review and outlook

It’s been 100 days since I started my position as CEO of the new, soon-to-be REACH NOW. A lot has happened in the past three months, with even more to come. In February, Daimler AG and BMW Group announced their five joint ventures in the new mobility sector: SHARE NOW, FREE NOW, REACH NOW, PARK NOW and CHARGE NOW. 

This historic collaboration is based on our shared beliefs in new, easy and—most of all—individual mobility concepts and trends. Together we are forming a strong partnership to provide customer access to individual mobility solutions as convenient and easy as possible.

For REACH NOW, this is possible by connecting individual mobility services into one single platform. Beyond that, this achievement is a big step towards a world without traffic jams. 

More mobility yes, but with sustainable use of resources

Over the past few years, numerous providers and apps have entered the market offering a wide range of different mobility solutions – from bikes to (shared) cars to (e-)scooters and more. The number of car sharing providers is growing continuously. In Germany, this number has grown to around 180 in 2019[1]. But the results have been mixed due to fragmented coordination.

Bike sharing is still the most popular service in China and is becoming more common in Germany where bike sharing providers have increasingly found their way into the cities. On one hand, the growing range of services has led to more variety in regards to personal mobility needs and has shaped the mindset of cities: overnight, fleets of new rental bikes have swamped inner cities and changed cityscapes tremendously. On the other hand, some of the new providers such as oBike have already gone bankrupt and left piles of scrap metal behind—some of them even in riverbeds, polluting the environment.

E-scooters are also the first wave of new, highly anticipated mobility options. In Germany, they are set to make their premiere on the streets. Just a few weeks ago, the Federal Council authorized the usage of e-scooters on German bike paths. The popularity and user-friendliness of e-scooters offers an excellent option for first and last-mile trips. Now, riders can cover all measures of distances with a variety of vehicles.

In Paris, though, there are challenges. The city’s some 15,000 scooters can be found parked all over the place. Entrances, sidewalks, and parks are being blocked by an ever-growing number of scooters. Due to this development, the local government intends to outlaw riding an e-scooter on pavement from September and will authorize them only in bicycle lanes and minor roads. The municipality has put the public space at the operators’ disposal and hopes in return that operators will find solutions in terms of traffic and parking. However, if self-regulation fails, the government has already announced it will simply ban e-scooters until the autumn law is in effect. 

One comprehensive solution for all types of mobility is needed now more than ever before.

The mindset in the cities has already changed, however. They are becoming more open-minded and are actively asking for support in managing and licensing mobility services. This calls for a more reasonable and more sustainable approach to our services. That is one of the issues we will address with REACH NOW—we are working to support cities in developing one central platform that tackles all problems related to urban mobility.

Additionally, one of our main goals is to convince cities to be more customer-centric by radically simplifying urban mobility to unlock the power of multiple modes of transportation —bringing us closer to a world without traffic jams. When we work together, cities eventually can become more livable. In that way, the question is not how to increase the number of mobility providers but how to create a healthy mix of mobility modes.  

On our way to one central platform for all mobility services

To reach this goal, we have already established a number of regional collaborations. 

The most recent is our “Izuko” app in Japan (Tokyo region). It is our first Mobility-as-a-Service app in Asia and gives our customers access to public buses and trains, rental bikes and cars, as well as on-demand ridesharing in the Izu region. In addition to mobility options, tickets for tourist attractions can also be booked in the app. At REACH NOW we want to take Mobility-as-a-Service further by focusing on why people move as opposed to how they move. With our MaaS platform we extend our services from just mobility to a one-stop-shop for urban journeys.

What’s more, our partnership with Metro Transit in the U.S. city of St. Louis, Missouri. During the pilot period, the new app will allow customers to purchase MetroLink fares for downtown sporting events and tickets for the Forest Park Explorer service. In Portland, Oregon, customers don’t even need an individual app. With the help of REACH NOW, users of public transport can add the Hop Fastpass? card to their Apple Wallet and simply tap to ride.

Our latest acquisition, Validated Inc., is a technology platform that makes it possible for local companies and—businesses such as restaurants in North America, for example—to subsidize transportation for customers and employees who are also users of shared mobility services. This adds loyalty programs and business partnerships to our portfolio. Thus, REACH NOW is developing into more than just a mobility provider. REACH NOW can help cities to guide and control newly-arriving mobility providers. We can do so by means of consulting, managing, and supporting — while utilizing a more holistic approach to the world of urban mobility.

In the area of Karlsruhe, Germany, we are launching the new on-demand ridesharing service “MyShuttle” in partnership with KVV to encourage more and more people to use local public transport. With our on-demand ridesharing platform we aim to make public transportation even more attractive by supplementing the existing bus and train services with flexible, customer-friendly solutions and thus white-spots in the public transport network.

Beyond individual mobility, we have also expanded into the business world. Commuting consumes a large chunk of many employees’ days and can undermine productivity. Now companies can help alleviate that by giving their employees a Mobility Budget. A Mobility Budget is a monthly fixed amount that companies provide to employees to spend on their commute and getting around. This budget works for all available types of transportation, so employees can pick and choose based on their need. With this project, REACH NOW wants to increase the use of public transportation and thus decrease the number of cars on the roads.

These eventful first 100 days are behind me, but rest assured, there is a lot more to come. With REACH NOW, we will roll out our MaaS platform nationally and internationally, adding new features and functionalities along the way.

It is one of our contributions to the much-needed reduction of urban traffic. That is the cornerstone of our social responsibility now and in the future.

[1] Source: Bundesverband Carsharing e.V.