Smart City

As of spring 2020, residents are able to use their Monheim Pass or the accompanying app to access the services the town offers. The Monheim Pass can in the future also be used to make cashless payments. 

The new card for citizens enables all Monheim residents to take advantage of numerous services offered by the city and its associated companies, such as MEGA (Monheim's electricity and gas supplier), Mona Mare (a swimming and sauna complex), the Kulturwerke organization that organizes cultural events, and BSM (the town's public transport provider). This will go hand in hand with the introduction of a digital citizen's account.

Besides numerous starter functions and a lot more potential for expanding the way it can be used, the pass also includes an electronic bus and train ticket for the A1 price level (Langenfeld/Monheim). The city is one of the first in Germany that has introduced free local public transport.

In addition to the Monheim Pass, which is the size and shape of a credit card, there is also a smartphone app. This way, users will be able to use public transport in Monheim am Rhein and Langenfeld free of charge with a digital ticket on their smart phone. 

Future functions of the app include a waste collection calendar and the possibility to rent the new City Bikes.

Since February 26, 2020, five almost fully autonomous electric buses have exclusively served the route between the bus station and the old part of town. The journeys run as normal, in flowing traffic, and can be used every day from 7 a.m. to midnight with the usual public transport tickets. This combination does not exist anywhere else in Germany and, at present, anywhere else in Europe either.

The buses are primarily intended to be feeder buses from the old part of town to the classic main bus lines. They follow a predefined route and are fitted with a variety of sensors. These sensors detect dangers early on and stop the bus. In an emergency, however, a supervisor, the so-called operator, is also able to intervene.

The five buses currently run from the bus station via Krischerstrasse and Kirchstrasse to Kradepohl, then along Grabenstrasse, Turmstrasse and Kapellenstrasse and down Poetengasse to Grabenstrasse and back again. When construction work in Alte Schulstrasse ends, the buses will drive along the Alte Schulstrasse through the Schelmenturm ("Rogue's Tower") to Kapellenstrasse. The e-bus fleet is powered with 100% green electricity from MEGA (Monheim's electricity and gas supplier).

Funding is provided mainly through a €2.1m BSM subsidy application to the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr transport association. In addition, the City Council of Monheim am Rhein approved €300,000 for the initial preparation work for the project.

The operation is to be scientifically accompanied by a study. The focus here is on determining how well the offer is taken up and its effects on mobility behavior. Moreover, operational and planning data from various sources will be analyzed.

Nationwide, there is a lot of talk about poor broadband infrastructure. In Monheim am Rhein, a city-wide fiber optic network has long been a reality. It was realized by the municipal subsidiary MEGA, which markets its own Internet, TV and telephone services under the MEGA Multimedia brand. Customer-specific telecommunications solutions are also offered for companies that often have special requirements.

The city and its subsidiaries publish current information and event dates on the digital display screens that are found at various locations within the city limits.

In addition, the city also offers Monheim's associations, facilities and institutions the chance to prominently advertise their own charitable events that are open to the public and expected to attract a lot of public interest.

Since May 2019, city officials and Monheim's citizens have been sharing nine Renault ZOEs and two nine-seater Renault Masters to get out and about: the City Cars.

The vehicles can be booked and rented online. Mainly during the day and on weekdays, they are also sometimes used as service vehicles, but otherwise they are available to the public around the clock. The nine ZOEs are powered by electricity. In Monheim am Rhein, they are refueled with 100% green electricity from MEGA.

You can find more information on the City Cars here.