Polis Mobility has now taken place for the second time. As with the first edition last year, Hall 1 of the Cologne Exhibition Center was the place to be. The conference speeches of the numerous speakers were presented on the four stages distributed throughout the hall.

In between, exhibitors displayed their products and projects. The spectrum ranged from last-mile logistics of smaller providers and start-ups to industry leaders in mobility such as Shell or VW. In addition, many institutions presented themselves with joint stands to the primarily national audience.

In the conference, a highlight was a panel discussion with, among others, the Minister of Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Oliver Krischer and Ministerialdirigent Johannes Wieczorek (Federal Ministry of Transport), who discussed current issues in transport politics, especially with regard to the division of responsibilities between the federal and state governments.

The Plus One level was also the subject of a panel discussion in the conference section, hosted by Cable Car World.

Moderator Dominik Berndt (Managing Director, Cable Car World GmbH) discussed with Sebastian Beck (Associate Partner, Drees & Sommer), Ralf Güldenzopf (Head of Department for Strategic Urban Development, City of Oberhausen), Jürgen Heinzel (Associate Design Director, UN Studio) and Elmar Middeldorf (Managing Director, H-Bahn Gesellschaft Dortmund mbH).

Among other things, they explored the question of why, after initial pioneering projects in the past, no further developments have taken place in Germany for a long time, while abroad the Plus One level has now been recognized in many cases as a potential area for mobility offerings.

The established technologies – apart from high-level railroads (e.g. Hamburg) – are ropeways and H-railways (suspension railroads). These, the discussants agreed, will soon be used again to a greater extent in Germany. As the city representative on the panel, Ralf Güldenzopf referred to the will in Oberhausen to develop this level in a new development area before the first cars roll in and parking lots are paved.

In general, courage and political will are needed, but also the appropriate traffic conditions, to open up the Plus One level for public transport again in Germany.