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AMCON commits to promoting sustainable mobility and receives federal funding

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The software company AMCON from Cloppenburg has been working for many years to advance the mobility transition in Germany through sustainable software solutions. Whether at ticket machines on the platform, in service centers, online, or via smartphone apps – there are now many ways to purchase a ticket for public transport. As in many other industries, it also makes sense in public transport (ÖPNV) to create a customer account with a mobility provider where your payment information is stored. When you buy a ticket, you log in with your personal data but don’t have to re-enter your payment details each time – much like you may be used to from your Amazon account. For this to work smoothly across different sales channels in public transport, open interface standards are necessary to ensure that devices can communicate and process your data. In the end, you receive an invoice via email – just like with other online services you’ve booked. “The more digital our mobility becomes, the more important open standards are to ensure reliable data exchange and integration. In public transport, we’ve been working on this for some time, and now with the HUSST4MaaS project, we want to expand it to areas like congestion charging and parking,” says Olaf Clausen, Managing Director of AMCON, who has made the HUSST4MaaS project a top priority. To create consistent standards in this area, AMCON is collaborating with other software and hardware manufacturers, the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, and the ISM International School of Management GmbH in Dortmund on the HUSST4MaaS project (Vendor-Independent Standard Interface for Mobility-as-a-Service). “Mobility-as-a-Service is an approach that puts the needs and preferences of users at the center of public transport offerings. So if you want to get from the train station to the city center, ideally there should be a mobility platform with a centralized customer account that allows you to pay for a bus ticket, rental car, bike share, or e-scooter – all in one place. The goal of the HUSST4MaaS project is also to integrate parking options, such as public lots, parking garages, and congestion charges,” Clausen explains.

State funding of 233,000 euros for the entire project

As part of the mFUND research initiative launched by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMVI) in 2016, research and development projects in Germany are supported that focus on digital, data-driven applications for Mobility 4.0. Since 2010, hardware and software manufacturers from across Germany have been working within the HUSST Forum on various projects aimed at establishing standardized interface formats for the German public transport landscape. The Cloppenburg-based software company AMCON, which will soon have around 90 employees, is one of the founding members of the forum. The forum operates under the umbrella of ITS Germany e. V., a professional association based in Berlin. The HUSST4MaaS project is receiving a total of €233,000 in funding, which is divided among all eight project partners. “It’s great that we can tackle and further develop this project together with other industry players. I’m especially pleased that we also have two universities on board,” says Olaf Clausen, Managing Director of AMCON.

How does this work with the interface formats?

Here’s how you can imagine it: All over the world, there are different types of power outlets. If you travel abroad, your hairdryer from Germany won’t necessarily fit into a socket in the US or the UK. That’s why you need an adapter so you can use it. It’s a similar situation in the world of mobility: there are many different interfaces on ticket machines, parking garage systems, or public parking meters that are designed to transfer data. While this all happens virtually, the concept is the same — the plug or interface must fit in order for the data to be transferred. An open interface is like an adapter: it ensures that your German hairdryer will also work in the UK. 

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