Skip to main content

Optibus moves onto the water in Hamburg

Deal with publicly-owned ferry operator Hadag expands firm's reach from buses
By Adam Hill October 17, 2023 Read time: 1 min
The River Elbe in Hamburg is an important passenger route (© Nova Rizal | Dreamstime.com)

Optibus has moved beyond its traditional bus planning and routing business and is now offering a similar service to ferries.

It has signed a deal with Hadag, the publicly-owned ferry operator for the German city of Hamburg, which transports 10 million passengers a year.

A key player in Hamburg's passenger transportation network, it has 26 vessels carrying between 114 and 250 passengers at a time.

“Transporting our passengers safely and quickly is our main priority. The technologies that Optibus introduces to our team are the start of a smarter, world-class ferry network for the city of Hamburg,” says Wolfgang Mularzyk, project leader digitalisation at Hadag.

The firm will use Optibus’ software to make planning and operations "smoother and more data-driven". 

“Optibus’ mission is to bring innovation to public transportation, and we want to advance this mission wherever and however people move from A to B," says Amos Haggiag, CEO and co-founder of Optibus.

Hadag is contracted by Airbus to provide ferry shuttles for Hamburg staff to and from its site in Finkenwerder. 

As part of Hamburg's public transport association, Hamburger Verkehrsverbund, increased efficiencies within Hadag’s ferry network will also bring benefits to the city’s wider mobility network, which consists of rapid-transit trains, local trains and buses, suggests Optibus.


For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Microgrids & the new power generation
    August 31, 2021
    Public transportation agencies are turning to microgrids to provide critical resilience in the event of local and regional power interruptions. Gordon Feller looks at projects in Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts
  • In the (Vegas) loop
    May 3, 2023
    The Las Vegas Loop Tesla e-taxi service has carried its millionth passenger and is targeting expansion. But what’s it actually like? Liam McLoughlin, editor of EV Charging & Infrastructure, is taken for a ride
  • Conduent makes contactless splash in Venice
    July 3, 2024
    EMV system covers trams, buses and - of course - ferries, boats and waterbuses
  • Nordic ticket to ride
    December 4, 2024
    Why is making a multimodal travel plan between Nordic nations so difficult? No wonder planes and cars are so popular, says Søren Sørensen – but a new project means things may be about to change