EuroTeQ Collider: Mobility for Offliners

As part of the EuroTeQ Collider, an international student competition, an interdisciplinary team consisting of Chih-Chi Wang, Amrutha Viswanath, Ludovica Di Giacomo, and Xiaoting Deng took on this challenge. In close cooperation with the municipality, they developed ideas ranging from easy-to-read orientation maps of key locations such as supermarkets, medical practices, and pharmacies, to expanding the municipal on-demand transport service through volunteer drivers, and organizing accompanied trips to give older people more confidence when using public and shared transport.

After eight weeks of intensive work, the team presented its results alongside 15 other groups from Munich and the surrounding area at a pitch event before an audience and expert jury. Mobility for Offliners was recognized as one of the top three teams and qualified for the European final in Eindhoven, where it will compete against the best ideas from eight other European partner universities.

Supported by the municipality’s Mobility Officer, David Rehbach, and Eric Jacob from the TUM Think Tank, the project is a prime example of how local government practice, academic expertise, and civic engagement can come together. The concepts developed in Eching will now be further expanded—with the goal of creating a future-proof, inclusive mobility system that benefits all generations. In this way, an idea for Eching is becoming a model that can inspire other municipalities to advance mobility justice and social participation.