Accessibility Hamburg: MOIA's barrier-free service

MOIA has been offering an accessible mobility service in Hamburg for a year now. With the first authorisation as part of Hamburg's public transport system in 2023, we have integrated a total of 15 barrier-free vehicles into our fleet to offer people with disabilities a convenient mobility option near the Elbe. The current usage figures confirm that we are making an important contribution to accessibility in Hamburg.

Barrier-free ridepooling: Our service in Hamburg

Free use to severely disabled persons and their accompanying person

Last year, wheelchair users used MOIA's barrier-free service for 31,000 journeys. These wheelchair-accessible vehicles are driven by drivers who are specially trained in dealing with people with limited mobility and the wheelchair safety system. Access is via an electro-hydraulic rear lift. 

In addition, severely disabled people and their carers used our ridepooling service for more than 240,000 journeys in Hamburg in 2023. Severely disabled people who are entitled to free travel on local public transport under the German Social Security Code can use MOIA free of charge. For this, they can register at the MOIA integration office at Hamburg central bus station.

Better mobility for people with disabilities

"Social participation for all people is closely linked to mobility options. We are delighted to be able to support people with disabilities on their daily journeys with our service", explains Sascha Meyer, CEO of MOIA. The integration of accessible vehicles shows that innovative mobility solutions such as ridepooling can have a positive impact on people's quality of life and that we at MOIA are contributing to barrier-free accessibility in Hamburg. "We will continue to work closely with our partners for the Hamburg-Takt to sustainably improve mobility for the people of Hamburg", says Sascha Meyer. 

The new addition has also received positive feedback from Lebenshilfe Hamburg e.V.. Managing Director Axel Graßmann praises the "great offer" and hopes that it will remain in place permanently. Both Meyer and Graßmann agree that the figures from 2023 explicitly illustrate the need and relevance of the offer. 

The content creator "Mr BlindLife", who uses his social media channels to highlight the challenges faced by visually impaired people in everyday life, praised MOIA in an article in the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper as "super practical" and is happy to use the accessible service.

Accessible vehicle e-Crafter – specially designed for ridepooling

As part of a co-creation process, MOIA worked together with associations and people with reduced mobility to further develop the all-electric vehicle, which is based on the e-Crafter from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. The MOIA typical interior, specially developed for ridepooling, was transferred to the barrier-free vehicle. 

The basic equipment of the MOIA vehicles is designed in a way that people with limited mobility, for example with foldable walking aids or rollators, can be easily transported. For people with impaired vision, the MOIA-app is equipped with the "voice-over functions" of iOS and Android (Talk Back), so that the service is possible via voice control. Other assistance programmes such as Blindsquare or Lazarillo enable blind-friendly navigation of the app. Passengers can also specify in their profile that they need more time to walk.

Since its launch in 2019, MOIA has been working on offering as many people as possible another mobility option to experience Hamburg barrier-free. The positive feedback on our barrier-free service in Hamburg shows us that we are enabling a large group of consumers to travel comfortably along the Elbe. If you would also like to travel barrier-free with MOIA, you will find a lot of information about MOIA for people with support needs and/or disabilities at the Accessibility category.