The contracting authority is Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH (SWEG for short, hereinafter also referred to as the contracting authority or client), a company that operates bus transport in urban and intercity transport as well as rail freight and local rail passenger transport in Baden-Württemberg and partly adjacent areas. The head office is located in Lahr / Black Forest. The shareholders of SWEG are the state of Baden-Württemberg (95 percent) as well as the district of Sigmaringen and the Zollernalb district (2.5 percent each).

SWEG is a partner of many municipalities in Baden-Württemberg and makes a significant contribution to ensuring public transport services in the state. The responsibility of the municipal authorities for regional transport is largely assumed by the districts and independent cities. In addition to operating regional lines in rural and suburban areas, SWEG operates urban transport in the following municipalities, among others: Bad Mergentheim, Sinsheim, Offenburg, Kehl, Lahr, Neuchâtel, Lörrach, Weil am Rhein, Rastatt and Karlsruhe. More than 1800 employees work at SWEG. With around 470 buses and 130 rail vehicles, the company is helping to ensure that people can be sustainably mobile. Therefore, there is a special interest on the part of the client in breaking down barriers to public transport through digital access and thus actively supporting the switch away from motorized private transport to public transport.

The focus of the project is the further development of an ecological and sustainable local public transport system, which uses new flexible forms of mobility, such as on-demand shuttle transport, to complement the public transport offer and integrates them into the public transport system in a holistic approach. The overarching objective is to increase the attractiveness of public transport compared to motorised private transport (MIV) by densifying the transport offer, especially by expanding it in off-peak times and removing barriers to use. Last but not least, it is also expected to make a significant contribution to the reduction of air pollutants.

For this purpose, a central on-demand platform for planning, information, booking (order and trip management), scheduling / arranging and bundling of on-demand transports in Baden-Württemberg and neighboring districts will be created within the framework of the project and connected to the electronic timetable information system EFA Baden-Württemberg for passenger access.