SELMA: Synergies between theory and practice for integrating local mobility solutions into digital platforms

The growing variety of mobility services—such as micro-public transit, on-demand services, and sharing options—is opening up new possibilities for everyday urban mobility and rural tourism. Despite this diversity, these options are still insufficiently integrated into common routing tools and information platforms. This creates challenges in the seamless planning, booking, and execution of multimodal trips, which in turn undermines the appeal of public transit as a mobility solution. To meet the demand for a more sustainable and universally accessible mobility system, it is crucial to better integrate regional and local mobility services into digital platforms, while identifying existing technical, organizational, and governance-related challenges and developing appropriate solutions.

The SELMA study aims to improve the integration of local mobility solutions into digital platforms and to develop practical, scenario-based recommendations for action through a multidimensional theoretical and practical approach. This is made possible by the consortium’s broad range of expertise in both content and methodology, which brings both comprehensive theoretical knowledge of integration barriers and relevant governance structures as well as practical integration experience to the table. The project analyzes integration barriers and potential entry points for improved governance structures and new forms of cooperation for various use cases (e.g., tourism vs. everyday mobility, different modes of transport, large vs. small providers, local vs. supraregional focus). This ensures a consistent consideration of relevant mobility governance as well as the inclusion of relevant stakeholders, so that potential barriers in future integration processes can be proactively addressed. The overarching goal is to increase the visibility of these MDMS services through integration into existing digital ecosystems, thereby facilitating their use from the end-user’s perspective and thus contributing to a sustainable mobility system.