Digitalizing the booking and management system for demand-responsive public transport services in Valconca and Valmarecchia without abandoning traditional phone reservations — this is the goal of the new “Sustant” WebApp, developed by the Institute for Transport and Logistics (ITL) in collaboration with Agenzia Mobilità Romagnola (AMR), as part of the European Interreg Central Europe project Sustance.
“Improving accessibility to public transport services in remote and peripheral areas has long been a priority for ITL, a publicly supported foundation that has been working for over 20 years on the development and promotion of sustainable transport and logistics systems in the Emilia-Romagna region,” said Guido Fabbri, President of ITL.
The Sustant WebApp, soon to be available at www.sustant.it, will allow users to conveniently book rides on the ConcaBus and ValmaBass services, operated by Autoservizi Merli Snc and La Romagnola Scs Onlus, respectively.
Marco Mazzotti, General Director of AMR, explains: “The trial will begin with a limited group of users to evaluate all of the WebApp’s functionalities. Once any issues are resolved, it will be made available to all interested users, in accordance with the operating rules of the services.”
The Sustance project WebApp “will increase the booking and management options for our DRT services in Valmarecchia,” said Rudy Ballabene, President of La Romagnola Social Cooperative, “and improve the way we report on our services to AMR.”
“Currently, the primary users of these demand-responsive services are older adults,” noted Oriella Nanni, legal representative of Autoservizi Merli, “but usage among younger people is growing. This app will allow us to make the booking process more dynamic for users.”
The pilot project will be carried out within the framework of the SUSTANCE European project and is expected to last approximately five months. The developed solution will be made available as open-source software for any public entities interested in enhancing their own DRT services.
