Client: Hanover Region
Date: 2025-2029
Location: Hanover, Germany
The Hanover Region aims to make its public transport systems more accessible, sustainable and attractive to its more than 1.1 million citizens.
This ambition was solidified in the region’s mobility development plan “Aktionsplan Verkehrswende – VEP2035+” which was approved by a large majority in July 2023, and included the objective to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2035.
To fulfill its ambitions, the Hanover Region teamed up with Bax to develop the MIMS project, which stands for Multimodal Innovative Mobility System.
Funded at 90% through the EU ELENA programme, MIMS will implement the VEP2035+ strategy; planning and preparing investments into on-demand transport, cycling infrastructure, e-charging points and public transport services across the region.
Challenge
Europe’s transport sector produces over 23% of the continent’s greenhouse gas emissions. In Germany, cutting transport emissions is especially challenging due to the country’s strong car industry and the car-centric urban planning of the 1960s. The City of Hanover and its surrounding region are no exception, making the region’s ambition to cut transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70% especially demanding. Reallocating car-dominated urban space requires major investment, construction and political backing, while new mobility solutions – from on-demand services and electrification to modern cycling infrastructure – must be planned in an integrated, coordinated way to offer real alternatives to car use.
Approach
MIMS tackles these challenges through a coordinated, long-term planning effort. With approximately €1.95 million in ELENA funding, MIMS will work with a dedicated team of regional staff and external specialists to systematically prepare and assess a wide range of sustainable mobility measures for implementation in the Hanover Region. This will involve the development of feasibility studies, business models and regulatory analyses. Bax is supporting this process as part of the implementation team, coordinating contract management with the European Investment Bank and ensuring smooth delivery.
Impact
The MIMS project will translate its preparatory work into substantial, measurable benefits for the Hanover Region. Once implemented, the planned measures are expected to deliver significant environmental and infrastructural gains, including:
The Hanover Region’s integrated planning approach to multimodal mobility demonstrates its deep understanding of what is needed to achieve a modal transport shift in Germany.
It is impressive to see how successful models such as the sprinti on-demand service, which allows Hanover’s residents to access an on-demand minibus pickup service, can be further refined to address the diverse mobility needs of our society.
We are grateful to have supported this initiative from the outset and look forward to overseeing its next steps and ongoing success.
– Nicolas Freitag, Bax Innovation Consultant
