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

  • How to win over car owners to public transit
    February 16, 2021
    Public transportation agencies need to look at what private sector firms like Amazon and Netflix have offered their customers, argues Bonnie Crawford of Cubic Transportation Systems
  • Vaisala highlights AI in road maintenance
    November 23, 2020
    New eBook explains how data can be collected at same time as scheduled inspections
  • Aimsun solutions support new planning tool for low-carbon mobility
    March 8, 2023
    The EU-funded HARMONY research project is behind a new planning tool to support sustainable transport policymaking. Aimsun scientific researcher Lampros Yfantis explains the key role of traffic simulation with Aimsun Ride in planning for on-demand mobility and logistics services
  • Hamburg and Here to partner on intelligent mobility
    September 15, 2017
    The Germany city of Hamburg and mapping and location specialist Here Technologies plan to share traffic-relevant data, with the aim of enhancing traffic safety and reduce noise and pollutant emissions by improving traffic flows. The partners plan to cooperate in various areas and to start joint projects. As part of the partnership Hamburg will provide Here with access to up-to-date, non-personal data related to public transit, construction sites, major events and parking availability. Here will integra