Ridesharing: Moia withdraws from Hanover

Ridesharing provider Moia is discontinuing its service in Hanover at short notice. As early as Friday, shared cabs will no longer be driving through the capital of Lower Saxony. The company wants to concentrate on its activities in Hamburg in future. "In light of this, Moia will not be applying for a new concession for the service in Hanover," said a spokesperson.

Strategic realignment

The withdrawal from Hanover is part of the provider's strategic realignment, the statement continued. Instead of operating shared cabs itself, Moia wants to become a technology and system provider for autonomous mobility solutions. Moia wants to provide mobility providers with "secure and turnkey complete solutions" for autonomous mobility services.

The testing ground for this is Hamburg. Moia's offering in the Elbe metropolis will remain unaffected by the closure in Hanover, the company assures. "The development and testing of the mobility offering with end customers will be concentrated there in future," said the spokesperson.

Moia, which belongs to the Volkswagen Group, began initial tests in Hanover in 2017 and then started regular operations in summer 2018, followed by Hamburg in 2019. The company did not receive a license in Berlin because two ride-sharing services were already operating in the capital at the time.

Autonomous in Hamburg

While VW vans with combustion engines initially transported several passengers along loosely defined routes in Hanover, electric vehicles have been in use in Hamburg since 2019. The fleet in Hanover was also recently fully electric. In Hamburg, Moia is now experimenting with autonomous shuttles based on the electric VW ID.Buzz.

According to a report in the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, ten employees in Hanover are still affected by the discontinuation of the service. The end had already become apparent at the end of 2024, when Moia reduced the number of employees and vehicles.

(vbr)