Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - With a new app, the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) wants to enable its customers to book and pay for e-scooters or rental bikes, among other things. The new smartphone application "RMVgo" should be available from October 17, as the association announced on Wednesday in Frankfurt. It should be clearer, make it easier to search for connections and buy tickets, and offer customers more orientation. Their functions are to be gradually expanded. The previous app should only work until the end of the year.
With the launch on October 17th, "RMVgo" offers the previously impossible advance sale of season tickets such as weekly or monthly tickets. An alarm function in the event of delays is also new. For better orientation, a map has been placed in the center that shows the user's location and can be used to search for the desired connection. If desired, a rental bike or an e-scooter can also be included, the app then shows available vehicles at the desired location.
Further functions, such as paying for bicycles or scooters, are to be added in the summer of next year, as the RMV announced. Taxis or on-demand vehicles are also to be included, these are minibuses that take passengers to their destinations in many municipalities without a fixed timetable.
According to the RMV, the previous app has been downloaded more than four million times since 2010. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, digital sales channels have become even more important. The monthly turnover via the app is between 4.0 and 4.5 million euros, which is around one tenth of the total according to RMV. The aim is to increase the share to 30 to 50 percent in the coming years, said RMV boss Knut Ringat.
