More than a line: Why the BVTM is launching its own Mobility Summit

On November 25, 2026, BVTM will for the first time host the "Alternative Public Transport Summit" in Berlin. At Motion.Lab Berlin, representatives from politics, science, municipalities, transport companies, and the mobility industry will discuss what public transport could look like in the future if it is not thought of solely along bus routes and rail networks.

The leitmotif of the event is "More than a Line" – and this also describes the central challenge facing the industry. The mobility of the future will probably be shaped less by individual modes of transport than by their interaction. Passengers are not ultimately interested in whether they are traveling by bus, train, taxi, shuttle, or an on-demand service. They mainly want to get reliably from A to B. The question of what such a networked system could look like has now concerned not only transport planners. It has long since become a political issue. Especially in rural regions, traditional public transport encounters economic limits in many places. At the same time, there is growing pressure to ensure mobility also outside metropolitan areas.

Can respond flexibly to demand – the taxi

Against this backdrop, offerings that a few years ago were still regarded as supplementary come into focus. On-demand mobility services, digital booking platforms, Mobility-as-a-Service concepts and sharing offerings should respond more flexibly to demand than rigid timetables. Add to this the discussion about autonomous vehicles, which could open up new possibilities, especially in regions with low population density. The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars positions itself deliberately as part of the solution. For years the industry has advocated treating taxis more as part of public mobility. In fact, taxi companies possess something that many newly developed mobility concepts still lack: comprehensive networks, local knowledge, and the ability to transport passengers door-to-door around the clock.

But the discussion is by no means free of conflicts. Where does public transport end, where does the market begin? What role do platforms play? Who funds flexible service formats? And how can new offerings be integrated so that they complement rather than displace existing traffic? It is precisely these questions that will determine whether many individual offerings actually form a functioning overall system.