TMV Think Tank 2026 in Bamberg: Between Return Obligations, Medical Transports, and New Alliances

Even a quick look at the program showed that the Taxi- and Rental Car Association of Germany (TMV) no longer regards its Think Tank as a classic event for its members. It was not about association rituals, it was about the questions that many entrepreneurs are currently dealing with: How can the return-to-base obligation be controlled in the age of digital platforms? What future do patient transports have when reimbursements come under pressure? What role does Austria's unitary trade play as a possible model for Germany? And how can the trade stay competitive in the face of the increasing changes in the mobility market?

That interest was already evident before it began. The event was fully booked. At the same time, for the first time a house fair opened its doors, where software providers, insurers, vehicle manufacturers and billing service providers presented their solutions. Christian Linz, managing director of the Bavarian Taxi- and Rental Car Companies Association, led the event once again, linking the various topic blocks and giving the discussions the necessary space.

When data speaks

The first day was mainly defined by a topic that has accompanied the industry for years: the control of the return-to-base obligation.

Hardly any provision of the Passenger Transport Act provokes more disputes between taxi companies, car rental operators and platform providers. While the legal situation seems clear, practical control often fails due to the sheer volume of data available. This is exactly where the presented systems RouteProof and DriveAnalytics come into play.

Both solutions pursue a similar approach: From GPS data, movement profiles and order information, reconstructed trip chains are created that are intended to reveal systematic patterns. The basic idea is simple. Individual trips say little. If thousands of movement data are analyzed, anomalies can be detected. Was a vehicle regularly standing by outside its base of operation? Were documented orders actually carried out as stated? Were idle times used to wait for new orders?

What has hitherto often been based on assumptions is to become digitally verifiable in the future. For the authorities, this opens up a new perspective. The licensing authorities already today possess broad inspection powers under §§ 54 and 54a PBefG (Passenger Transport Act). The challenge thus far lay less in the law than in the analysis of the information.

Digital analysis tools could close this gap in the future. What was interesting was less the technical side than the political dimension. For the same digitization that has made platform companies big, could in the future also provide the basis for more effective control of their business models.

From the case file to the digital procedure

In line with this, another digital solution, TeamGetCloser, was presented. While RouteProof and DriveAnalytics analyze trips, TeamGetCloser targets administrative processes. The platform automates recurring processes, classifies incoming information, and supports handling of larger case numbers.

Particularly interesting for the industry: The software is intended to assist hearing offices and authorities in procedures concerning possible violations.

The discussion showed that regulation is undergoing change. It is no longer the legal foundations that are the focus, but the question of how complex matters can be processed efficiently. Where file folders were moved in the past, today databases, workflows, and automated process chains take over part of the work.

Austria: A Look into the Future?

One of the most hotly debated agenda items subsequently crossed national borders.

Together with Christian Holzhauser of Taxi 40100 Wien, the participants discussed the Austrian unified trades. The debate is not new. For years, Germany has been discussing whether the strict separation between taxi and rental car traffic is still timely.

Austria has already left this debate behind.

There, taxi and rental-car trades were merged at the beginning of 2021 in the passenger transport sector with cars. The aim was to create equal rules for all market participants – regardless of whether rides are mediated via a taxi dispatch center or via platforms.

The balance today is nuanced. The unified trades have neither ended competition nor solved the economic problems of the industry. Driver shortage, cost pressure and digitalization continue to occupy the companies. Yet many Austrian entrepreneurs view the reform as a success. The key difference: platform providers today operate within the same regulatory framework as traditional taxi companies.

For the participants in Bamberg, the question was therefore less whether the model is perfect. More interesting was the consideration of what Germany can derive from the Austrian path.

Non-emergency medical transport in focus

On the second day of the event, the emphasis shifted clearly. While regulation and platform economy dominated the previous day, non-emergency medical transports and patient transport moved to the center.

For many businesses, they have long since become a central economic pillar.

Accordingly, the participants followed the contributions on transport charges and special agreements under § 51 PBefG with particular attention. Lawyer Thomas Grätz analyzed the current development of special agreements and remuneration models. Many entrepreneurs see here an increasing risk to the profitability of their services.

More concretely, the report by Jens Marggraf on the so-called "Brennpunkt Hessen" followed.

In the focus was the confrontation with the DAK and the question of how insufficient remuneration could affect care in the long term. The discussion made clear that it is no longer just about individual contracts. Many entrepreneurs now see the fundamental financing structure of patient transports under scrutiny. And Jens Marggraf was—again—advocating for more solidarity in the trade, because: "Only together are we really strong!"

New paths in discharge management

In line with that, the focus subsequently turned to new digital solutions.

With Smart Move the Trade Association of the Transport Industry in Lower Saxony introduced a platform that digitally networks hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and the taxi and rental-car trades.

The idea behind it is as pragmatic as it is understandable.

Hospitals record discharge trips digitally and enter them into a system. The connected taxi and rental-car companies receive the orders automatically and can accept them directly. Long telephone chains should thereby be eliminated. Noteworthy is the structure of the project. The platform was developed by the industry itself and is supported by the association. Hospitals should use the system free of charge; the connected transport companies pay only a small participation fee. The approach pursues a clear goal: to simplify the interface between clinic and transport company while at the same time keeping control over the brokerage data in the industry.