Digital X: Let's go! Into the future of mobility
On 13 and 14 September, the Digital X will bring the biggest megatrends of digitalisation to life in Cologne's city centre. Innovations to touch and try out. "Mobility" is one of the megatrends. How will we get from A to B in the future? How will our city centres change? Let's take a look at the "mobility of tomorrow" together.
Fuel prices are rising. Environmental protection is becoming more and more important. E-bikes and 9 Euro tickets are getting even convinced car drivers to try out alternatives. The mobility of the future is shaped by people's changing needs and technical innovations. Cities are gearing themselves towards active, healthy mobility. The car is no longer the focus of urban planning. Space for roads and car parking spaces is being reduced, cycle paths and pavements are being expanded and prioritised together with public transport.
The car on new roads
Modern city centres want to stand for a better quality of life. This fits in with the trend. Because the use of the car is also changing. On average, a car is only used for about one hour a day. The remaining 23 hours it sits around unused. Car-sharing services are one answer. Autonomous cars are another. In some "smart city centers", (partially) autonomous buses or trams are already on the road. Soon the car will follow: autonomously driving taxis, RoboCabs, could be in almost constant use in sharing operations. They would only have to stop to recharge their batteries.
Mobility planner for your pocket?
Helpful - and yet annoying: people on the move use a variety of different mobility apps to plan and book their journey. They provide information on when which bus is coming, where e-bikes or e-scooters are available. Or where free parking spaces are in the city centre. Several apps for planning a single route. That is not only inconvenient, but also confusing. A "mobility planner for your pocket" that coordinates information on all travel options and makes it available at the touch of a button. Which also books them directly and continuously? That would be nice! And is technically feasible.
What does it take?
The prerequisite for this networked mobility is the availability of data. Data that must be networked and exchanged securely. Between all participants - buses and trains, carpooling, car, bike and scooter sharing, all the way to taxis and car rentals. 5G helps with the transmission. European initiatives such as GAIA-X and the International Data Space Association (IDSA) are creating the basis for secure and standardised exchange. Their goal is to establish protected data spaces based on a common, European data infrastructure. The automotive industry already has its own initiative, Catena-X.
Autonomous driving, electric mobility, "Sharing Econonomy" and Catena-X - trends that you can experience live at Digital X. 13 and 14 September in Cologne. With stages, marketplaces, brand houses and top-class speakers, Cologne's city centre will once again become a world exhibition of digitisation in 2022. Digital X is Europe's largest cross-industry digitisation initiative. Organised by Deutsche Telekom, it involves over 300 national and international partners. You can find more details at
