Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH for short) is a partner in the Hamburg Transport Association and, with over 2,300 employees and over 660 buses, is the second largest local transport company in northern Germany.
As part of the "AHOI" research project, in which VHH is significantly involved, the building blocks "On-Demand" and "Autonomous Driving" are linked in a complex application in real operation in a large fleet. To this end, 20 electric minibuses with autonomous driving function (minimum order quantity) are to be procured and integrated into a fleet of manually controlled vehicles with drivers in the course of 2024 before they are then used driverless in passenger service in the Hamburg-Harburg district. The vehicles should be suitable for use in on-demand public transport, have headroom and have at least nine seats as well as a wheelchair or stroller space.
In addition, VHH reserves the right to procure 10 additional vehicles (maximum purchase quantity = 30 vehicles). There is no obligation on the part of VHH to call for services or to award individual orders to the contractor beyond the minimum purchase quantity of 20 vehicles stated in the service description. However, the contractor is obliged to provide the order volume estimated in the terms of reference under this framework agreement up to the maximum purchase quantity of 30 vehicles.
The scope of delivery and services of the tender also includes the hardware and software required to establish operational capability and operation as well as services (e.g. for technical supervision in the VHH control center, training, approval processes, support and maintenance, provision of data). The charging infrastructure is procured independently of the vehicle manufacturer and is not part of this award procedure. The other requirements are defined in the tender documents. The VHH receives funding from the federal government for the procurement described here.
Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH for short) is a partner in the Hamburg Transport Association and the second largest local transport company in northern Germany.
As part of the "AHOI" research project, in which VHH is significantly involved, the modules "On-Demand" and "Autonomous Driving" are linked in a complex use case in real operation in a large fleet and made accessible to users as part of an intermodal mobility system via the common booking platforms. In Harburg, a district in the south of Hamburg, VHH has been operating the on-demand service "hvv hop" since 2023, which works with software from ioki GmbH. This manually controlled fleet is to be gradually supplemented and, if necessary, replaced by vehicles with autonomous driving functions.
In order to realize the project, 20 electric minibuses with autonomous driving function (minimum order quantity) are to be procured by means of the present tender. The scope of delivery and services of the tender also includes the hardware and software as well as services required to establish operational capability and operation (e.g. deployment, project support, complete solution for technical supervision in the VHH control center, training, approval processes, support and maintenance, provision of data). The intersection of the on-demand booking system with the vehicle system is essential. The journeys are ordered with manually controlled vehicles via a passenger app to the booking system and are transmitted to the driving personnel of the vehicle assigned to the journey order via a mobile device. In the case of the planned use, the driving order must be processed directly by the autonomous vehicle system. The requirements for the implementation and creation of the required interfaces by the contractor are described in the tender documents.
In the course of 2024, the vehicle system will initially be tested in the operating area as part of a test permit in accordance with StVG in conjunction with AFGBV and data will be collected for the activation of the autonomous driving function. This phase of operation is scheduled to start no later than nine months after the contract has been awarded. The 20th vehicle is to be delivered no later than fourteen months after the contract has been awarded. In operating phase 3, the vehicles are to be used driverless in passenger service within the framework of a regular operating permit with monitoring by the technical supervision. The phase starts with the registration of the vehicles. At this point in time, the vehicles must meet the requirements of the AFGBV for an operating permit in the described operating area and be able to be approved, registered and operated as a complete system with autonomous driving function as well as monitoring by the technical supervision located at the client's premises. The operating area is to correspond to the service area of the "hvv hop" service in the Hamburg district of Harburg, which is located in the eastern part of the district and includes all or part of the districts of Eißendorf, Gut Moor, Harburg, Heimfeld, Wilstorf, Langenbek, Rönneburg, Marmstorf, Neuland and Sinstorf.
The vehicles to be procured must be suitable for use in on-demand public transport, have standing height and have at least nine seats as well as a wheelchair or stroller space. They must be minibuses with a maximum length of 5,100 mm, a width of 2,300 mm and a height of 3,000 mm and an electric drive. The approved driving speed must be at least 50 km/h (with and without activation of the autonomous driving function). The autonomous driving function must meet the requirements in the operating area. No roadside infrastructure will be installed as part of the project (no road-side units/radio technology), which is why, for example, the status of traffic lights must be reliably detected via vehicle technology. The charging infrastructure is procured independently of the vehicle manufacturer and is not part of this award procedure. The other requirements are defined in the tender documents.
The awarding authority expressly reserves the right to adjust the procurement requirements described above within the framework of the present negotiation procedure, taking into account the framework conditions under public procurement law.
In addition to the quantity of 20 vehicles, VHH reserves the right to procure 10 additional vehicles (maximum order quantity = 30 vehicles). There is no obligation on the part of VHH to call for services or to award individual orders to the contractor beyond the minimum purchase quantity of 20 vehicles stated in the service description. However, the contractor is obliged to provide the order volume estimated in the terms of reference under this framework agreement up to the maximum purchase quantity of 30 vehicles. If the overall project is successful, the operation of the mixed fleet in Harburg is to be continued.
The project also aims to set up an integrated control centre for on-demand transport in mixed fleets (manual control and autonomous driving). For this purpose, existing processes and tasks in the operational sequence as well as associated (software) tools are analyzed, improvements and intersections are designed and transferred into an implementation in order to use them in regular operation. In doing so, the building blocks of technical supervision, depot management, scheduling and the on-demand platform are considered and blended in terms of processes and software. The concept for the integration of technical supervision is largely taken over by the project consortium. Active cooperation of the contractor is required, as technical supervision is part of the safety architecture of the vehicle system.
VHH is receiving funding for the "AHOI" project as part of the funding guideline "Autonomous and networked driving in public transport" of the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport.