Project overview
Multimodal mobility management in rural areas
Rural regions with scattered populations often have weak links to cities, making it hard to reach work, education and healthcare. MUTABLE aims to improve public transport through stronger local mobility management. Partners from three countries introduce mobility managers who coordinate services, pilot demand-responsive connections and involve citizens in designing user-focused solutions. Exchanging methods and tools helps also other regions in central Europe build smarter, more inclusive rural mobility systems.
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0,80m €
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Project Budget
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80%
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of the Budget is funded by ERDF
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3
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Countries
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4
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Regions
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4
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Partners
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1
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Pilots
Duration
Start date
End date
Project progress
About the project
MUTABLE focuses on three regions that face similar mobility constraints: the District of Central Saxony in Germany, the Tolna Region in Hungary, and the Goričko area in Slovenia. Instead of expanding transport networks relying on costly new infrastructure, the project aims to optimise the performance of existing public transport.
A key innovation of the project is the introduction of mobility managers within partner organisations. These new roles act as coordinators who analyse current mobility supply structures, identify unused capacities and bottlenecks, involve citizens in shaping mobility solutions, and work closely with public transport providers. The aim is to help align services with real needs.
Building on the evidence found and stakeholder input, a Pilot Demonstration Site is established in each participating region to implement these concepts in practice. There, the mobility managers collaborate with local public transport service providers who are responsible for delivering services to demonstrate different aspects of demand-responsive mobility. Testing the mobility management approach in real‑life conditions allows the project to collect user feedback, assess operational feasibility and generate insights into how mobility management can improve efficiency, flexibility and public acceptance.
MUTABLE’s transnational approach is central to its impact. By pooling knowledge from regions with similar demographic and territorial challenges, partners jointly develop methods and tools, exchange knowledge on implementation challenges, and co-create a transferable solution. It defines the role and responsibilities of regional mobility managers and offers practical recommendations for improving rural public transport in a sustainable and transferable way. The process also identifies challenges that emerged during the implementation phase and documents how they were addressed.
Through its pilot demonstration sites and participatory processes, the project will deliver a practical, transferable framework for mobility management in rural and peripheral areas. Public authorities, transport providers, regional organisations and citizens all contribute to the development and testing of solutions, ensuring that results can be integrated into future transport planning, service contracts and mobility strategies. Recommendations derived from transnational evaluation will support future transport planning, improve coordination among stakeholders, and strengthen long‑term political commitment to needs-based public transport.
Project partnership
Project partners
Lead partner
Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH
Project partner
Referat Straßenverkehr und Sport
International department
Roadmap
Mobility Supply Analysis: Joint Knowledge Gathering
All partners will come together to gather and summarise regional knowledge on mobility frameworks, challenges and needs at administrative and provider level in Regional Fact Sheets. The partners will detail specific challenges, untapped ideas for change and opportunities for innovation within their respective regions, and will discuss these amongst themselves. This collaborative process will inform the later development of pilot actions and the new role of mobility managers.
Mobility Demand Analysis: Citizen participation
At a citizen and passenger level, the mobility managers will gather important data on mobility demand in the region to be used in conceptualising the pilot action. They will also discuss the implementation of demand-oriented mobility services, which will be tested in an upcoming pilot action. The citizen participation process is supported by a jointly developed framework designed to encourage transferability, which partners will apply based on the local context. These efforts aim to engage and inform the public transport community about the project's objectives and progress.
Mobility Management in Practice: Joint Development of the Pilot Test
Building on their existing knowledge, the project partners will work together to develop the concept for the pilot tests. This will involve testing mobility management approaches in real-life scenarios within the context of demand-oriented public mobility services. The project consists of three regional Pilot Demonstration Sites (PDS) in Germany, Hungary and Slovenia. The aim is to utilise the mobility managers and their previously gathered data to further establish mobility management in the targeted areas.
Mobility Management in Practice: Implementation of the Pilot Tests
Grounded in a joint pilot implementation concept, the partners coordinate their pilot tests in their respective Pilot Demonstration Site. The pilot tests will be documented in regional protocols, which will include details of the activities carried out, the target groups involved, the resources utilised, the challenges faced and the results achieved.
Mainstreaming the Efforts: Joint Analysis and Solution Development
The project aims to develop a solution that can effectively implement mobility management capacities in rural and peripheral areas. Therefore, the pilot tests aim to improve understanding of how mobility management could be implemented in these areas. This includes developing the role and responsibilities of mobility managers within local supply, demand and public mobility frameworks, based on insights gained from pilot testing. Future staff positions can also profit from the transnational knowledge gained. Furthermore, project partners are encouraged to consider continuing to appoint mobility managers and provide demand-oriented public transport services in the Pilot Demonstration Sites beyond the scope of the project, drawing on experience gained during project activities, and to transfer the approach to other relevant areas.
News
Events
No events found
Pilot actions
Outputs
Joint Mobility Management Solution
Project documents
MUTABLE
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