Group’s Moia division has bold plans for autonomous ride pooling, using the ID Buzz
Moia, the Volkswagen Group subsidiary developing new mobility services, is aiming to start autonomous ride pooling by 2025 – and the first specially adapted Volkswagen ID Buzz is due to start real-world testing imminently.
This test car will be fitted with a raft of advanced sensors and software when it takes to the streets of Hamburg, Germany. Limited passenger testing will begin next year.
Although the ultimate goal of Moia is to develop an autonomous service, the firm has been operating in Hanover and Hamburg since 2018. It has a fleet of 565 vehicles and employs 1300 staff – of whom, most surprisingly for an autonomous firm, 1000 are drivers.
That’s because, at present, Moia is running a “next-level ride-pooling” service, with a fleet of Pluto electric vehicles being used to offer a ride-hailing-type operation. The Pluto EVs are heavily reworked Volkswagen e-Crafters that have been honed for Moia’s needs. Each offers six large lounge-style passenger seats, with wraparound headrests for privacy.
The service is run by an Uber-style app. Potential riders input their journey, and the firm’s software then assigns a vehicle. But unlike Uber, which can do only a single trip at a time, each Moia vehicle can make numerous pick-ups and drop-offs – so the app constantly replots the optimum route.
The goal is to fill the gap between Hamburg’s public transport system and taxis, and the cost of a journey – around €1 to €1.50 per kilometre – is pitched between those two levels. As with ride-hailing apps, surge pricing is used at times of peak demand.
“We can’t equal the service of a taxi, because we’re not a direct service,” said Moia boss Sascha Meyer. “But we don’t want to cannibalise public transport, because that makes no sense. The goal is to get people out of private transport.”
Since the start of this year, Moia has been integrated into Hamburg’s public transport system and has so far carried more than 7.5 million passengers. Meyer said users are more likely to rely on public transport in the city and use Moia to fill in gaps or for travel at unsociable hours. A delivery operation is also in the works.
Moia’s 1000 drivers are all full-time employees and run on set shifts. But Meyer said autonomous vehicles are key to scaling the operation.
To expand its service from the centre of Hamburg to cover an area of 700 square kilometres with the same efficiency as present (the average wait time for a s
