I’ll drive today, will you drive tomorrow? MoFahr – A carpooling platform for commuters

After work, it’s time for the weekly shop, the children need to be picked up from nursery, and rain is forecast later on: there are many reasons why students and staff commute to university by car. From June 2026, both one-off and regular journeys can be shared. The new carpooling platform “MoFahr – Modern Fahren Sachsen-Anhalt” shows who is commuting where on which days at similar times and organises a commuting calendar. Coordinator Christoph Wolter knows how the OVGU commutes, why it commutes the way it does, and what the carpooling platform is capable of.

 

Mr Wolter, you are currently responsible for mobility at the OVGU’s Sustainability Office and are coordinating the launch of the MoFahr carpooling platform. How does the OVGU commute?

In the KlimaPlanReal – intensified project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, we are working together with the universities of Saxony-Anhalt to achieve climate neutrality. In this context, the issue of commuting mobility has been identified as a major lever: students and staff use bicycles or public transport, but the proportion of journeys made by car is relatively high. In 2023, commuting accounted for just under a third of OVGU’s CO2 emissions.

 

Why is that?

There are various reasons for this: many staff members have other commitments after work, such as weekly shopping or picking up the children. Others commute from rural areas around Magdeburg and are not well connected by public transport. Furthermore, a private car is often a ‘Plan B’ for rainy or cold days when cycling is not a viable option. The problem is that there is usually only one person in the vehicle.

 

So this is where the carpooling platform comes in?

Exactly! At the Wissenschaftshafen site, mobility solutions of the future are being researched and piloted. As part of the ‘Intelligent Mobility Space in the Neighbourhood’ project, funded by the Ministry of Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, the idea of a digital carpooling platform for Magdeburg and the surrounding area emerged – with a particular focus on rural areas. Thanks to funding from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Digital Affairs via “Saxony-Anhalt Digital” and with the experienced partner RideBee, we are working on “MoFahr – Modern Driving Saxony-Anhalt” under the leadership of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Zadek, Chair of Logistics.

 

Coordinator Christoph Wolter (Photo: private) 

 

What sets MoFahr apart from other carpooling platforms?

Such platforms usually deal with individual and mostly longer journeys. MoFahr aims to organise the significantly more complex commuting journeys. To this end, the OVGU locations are entered and users specify where and when they wish to set off. Depending on the settings, MoFahr then finds colleagues who are offering suitable journeys or would like to join in. Once the other party has given a quick confirmation, the journey is added to the calendar. This not only allows costs to be shared but also leads to interesting conversations.

 

Do I need an account and what costs are involved for users?  

Use of the app is free for OVGU students and staff. MoFahr calculates reasonable cost suggestions for journeys, which can be settled directly via the platform. You can easily log in to the web version or the app using your OVGU account.

 

That sounds good – when does it start?

We’re launching at OVGU in June, with further partners to follow later in the year. On 18 May, there will be an initial information session via Zoom, where we’ll demonstrate how MoFahr works within the OVGU interface and address any questions or requests.

 

Thank you very much for talking to us.