Match Rider x Enjoy Jazz

Match Rider has pioneered digital mobility solutions for carpooling. The company is now launching under the motto “Community-based Mobility” and is also cooperating with Enjoy Jazz We have arranged a meeting with Dr. Benedikt Krams.

For all those who don't know Match Rider yet, please introduce yourself and the company briefly.

BK: Yes hello, I'm Benedikt and I'm the managing director of Match Rider. We are based in Heidelberg. Match Rider connects people who share a certain identity and a spatial connection. People who are determined to improve mobility locally in the interests of public services. For these people, we offer a platform with associated apps.

That sounds quite interesting, but also unusual and abstract. Can you elaborate on that a little?

BK: With pleasure. The big thing we have in common, the message of our solutions, is that we want to enable mobility "from the bottom up". We make it very easy to organize a community for shared journeys - DIY ("do is yourself", editor's note) is the keyword here. For example, a mayor of a municipality can provide the impetus to create a mobility service, for example with volunteers behind the wheel and passengers who report their needs via an app. Or there are people who initiate car pools.

This is also the starting point of our cooperation. Where do you see the added value of carpooling for the visitors of the Enjoy Jazz Festivals?

By forming carpools with Match Rider, visitors are given an additional, ecological mobility option for their trips to the events. Many find it important to keep their own ecological footprint small. But what is even more important is that this community shares the same interests. This creates trust and solidarity. In particular, the shared journey there and back serves to share the wonderful experiences at the respective concerts.

We also found the DIY approach very exciting. Please say two or three more sentences about it!

In fact, anyone can improve their local mobility with our platform. It is available at mobilityDIY.com. Whether you are a private individual, an association or a company, enthusiastic people can register there and immediately set up their own mobility network. This applies to car pools, shuttle services or on-demand services, i.e. fully flexible transportation. Use is free for 30 days, after which a license fee is payable.

Our cooperation shows how low-threshold the platform is and how easy it is for Enjoy Jazz was to create a ride-sharing network to various event locations and offer it to visitors.

And where will the journey with Match Rider take us next?

We would of course be delighted to be able to motivate other cultural institutions in the Rhine-Neckar region to offer carpooling with Match Rider, so that we can establish a lighthouse region as a blueprint for other parts of Germany.

One thing that is close to my heart and that I have been advocating for a very long time is the integration of carpooling into public transport apps. We have long been tech-ready in this area and are "only" looking for the right partners in the industry who have the courage to take this step with us.

We are keeping our fingers crossed and are already looking forward to further cooperation with Match Rider!

The interview was conducted by Rozan Dikkat.