Sit and hope – Emendingen

. Everyone who lives in the country knows how to sing a song about it. If there is no working school bus, the commuting cited in Sunday political speeches often reaches its limits beyond normal public transit lines. Shopping in the supermarket, an appointment with a doctor in the city or a visit to the nearby village? Without your own car, this becomes a challenge. Can riding seats, which are becoming more and more fashionable in the Emmendingen region, bridge these gaps?

Kenzingen, Herbolzheim, Waldkirch, Riegel and, more recently, Teningen and Emmendingen – many cities and communities have already developed mobility concepts tailored to complement local public transport or, like Sexau or Elzach, are in the pipeline. In citizen-participation forums and administration-run discussion forums, the ride-sharing bank continues to emerge as a hidden resource for mobility: after all, there are plenty of free seats in private cars every day during rush-hour traffic. Increasing average occupancy from 1.4 to 2.4 people by 2030 could reduce vehicular traffic by 62 percent, a traffic expert recently reported at Elzacher Quartiersimpuls.
Just how do we match supply and demand? Take a seat and wait for a driver – this is the concept of ride-sharing or take-out bank (see information box). The bench is usually plain painted or, as in Mundingen, a red metal folding chair is usually in front of the local town hall or …