Abstract
The Forchheim rural region of Germany has set up a fully demand-orientated public transportation service in co-operation with local taxi services (AST). This service was linked with the telematics centre for the automatic management of the AST fleet, processing of service requests and invoicing/cost calculation issues. The functions of the telematics centre, the expansion of public transport provision in Forchheim, the abandonment of traditional fixed-route bus services in favour of the demand responsive system, the setting up of a mobility centre to process transport requests and communicate with the vehicle drivers, the design of on-board units, and planned improvements to the service are described.