The Intertraffic team is working hard to develop online opportunities to facilitate our community of mobility professionals. Although, we do look forward to the time in which we can meet each other in person again. European countries are gradually opening up again coming out of lockdown, including Germany. In this personal message from the team Claudia Raei, our sales consultant in Germany tells us about the current situation in her country.
Since the 22nd of March, Germany announced intelligent lockdown. For Germany, intelligent lockdown meant banning public gatherings of more than two people, closing schools and non-essential businesses and urging residents to keep 1.5 m distance. It seems early lockdown measures, widespread testing, a well-funded healthcare system and clear messaging from the government, have contributed to properly control and manage the spread of the virus in the country.
Claudia Raei: ‘After two months of lockdown the German government is now slowly trying to get the economy running again. We count COVID-19 infections, but the German government sees the impact on the economy, therefore they have decided to gradually open again like in other countries. The difference with other countries in Europe is that Germany is well-positioned financially. Besides that, our health system is one of the best in the world.’
Production of cars decreases by 31.1%
‘The government has released money for small and middle-sized companies that have difficulty surviving this crisis. They try to prevent these companies from having to reorganise. Some companies try to be innovative changing their business operations. Since the production of cars decreased by 31.1% one of the largest car suppliers changed their business and started producing plastic breathing tubes. Quite a difference, because before the Corona outbreak car production was focussed on sustainable production and e-mobility,’ says Claudia.
Number of rail passengers down by roughly 40% in March 2020
‘Before the outbreak in Germany people could only buy a ticket for train, bus or subway paying with cash. Public transport companies have really speeded up their business; now you can purchase a ticket via an app. During the lockdown a lot of public transport users switched to e-scooters and bicycles to avoid crowds, therefore the first month of the lockdown the number of rail passengers decreased by 40%. We could say that the Corona crisis has put a focus on digitalization. It seems inevitable the German government will support and invest more in digitalization in the future.’
‘Not all business in the mobility industry experience major impact or change. Companies in traffic infrastructure who, for example produce LED lights for traffic lights will not experience big challenges. On the other hand, companies in parking, for instance parking operators or ticketing companies, will suffer more. People travel a lot less, so parking lots have become empty. Overall I think business in traffic infrastructure will continue and I believe it is also a positive thing that they will be challenged to be even more innovative,’ says Claudia.
23 JUNE: JOIN OUR WEBINAR ON SMART PARKING
In post-Corona era parking operators might have to change their business. Will people travel by car more than before? How can operators and parking companies improve the customer journey? Join our webinar on Smart parking – optimising the customer journey.
