How BVG is using motiontag to usher in a new era of mobility data collection

With over one billion passengers per year, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is one of the largest municipal transport companies in Europe. To further strengthen its role as the capital's mobility engine, BVG is relying on a scalable, digital solution for its data foundation in the future: continuous, automated mobility data collection directly in the BVG Fahrinfo app – powered by motiontag.

The goal: reliable, multimodal movement data for better service planning, sound impact analyses, and a possible supplement to the classic traffic survey in the VBB.

The challenge: limits of classic traffic surveys

The existing system of manual traffic surveys is costly, has gaps in intermodal routes, and is not scalable over longer periods. At the same time, BVG faces complex questions:

• How are mobility patterns changing with the Deutschlandticket?
• Which lines are actually used – and in what context?
• How can sustainable mobility be spegcifically promoted and measured?
• These questions can only be answered with precise, continuously collected data.

BVG benefits from MOTIONTAG's many years of experience with projects such as the Klimaticket Austria, the Deutschlandticket monitoring with YouGov, or international research partnerships. In the new system architecture for Berlin, technological excellence and strategic impact merge – in the sense of a data-based, citizen-friendly mobility transition.

The solution: motiontag in the background – Fahrinfo in the foreground

As a proven technology partner, MOTIONTAG provides a powerful tracking SDK that is integrated into the Fahrinfo app. Participating users can voluntarily and anonymously have their mobility behavior recorded – 24/7, energy-saving, and in compliance with data protection regulations.

The system automatically recognizes up to 12 modes of transport, including public transport lines with line and operator information in the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) area. The entire route chain is recorded completely and intermodally – from walking to the bus to the regional train.

Impact: data for planning, monitoring, and revenue sharing

The continuous data collection enables BVG to:

• high-resolution, mode-specific analyses at line, network, and association level
• the support of the VBB traffic survey 2025, including consulting function by MOTIONTAG
• the basis for a planned bonus program to promote sustainable mobility
• valid passenger-kilometer analyses for the revenue sharing between transport companies
• and in the medium term: an automated evaluation of service adjustments and tariff effects

The integration into the "Fahrinfo" app is the first operational step. The later expansion to the multimodal Jelbi app is also planned. Via a common, modular system architecture, the tracking SDK can be flexibly expanded – e.g., to include CO₂ indicators, purpose of stay, or in-app interactions.

Partnership for the future

BVG benefits from MOTIONTAG's many years of experience with projects such as the Klimaticket Austria, the Deutschlandticket monitoring with YouGov, or international research partnerships. In the new system architecture for Berlin, technological excellence and strategic impact merge – in the sense of a data-based, citizen-friendly mobility transition.

With MOTIONTAG, we are recording multimodal mobility in real-time for the first time – directly in our Fahrinfo app. This creates a completely new data depth for service planning, evaluation, and the mobility transition in Berlin.