Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic, February 2023 – Mayor Jan Kučera, representing the Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, a town located in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic, signs a Letter of Intent with Tunnll, a next-generation local public transport provider.
With about 16,000 inhabitants, the Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm currently has no local (intra-urban) public transport, which means that residents and visitors are mainly reliant on car-based modes of transport.
The Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm recognizes the same problem that many other small towns in Europe have: a small town cannot afford to subsidize quality public transportation that covers all the urban area and that has comfortable waiting times. Non-existing public transportation leads to ever-growing town’s dependence on personal cars which are one of the main contributors of carbon-dioxide emissions, air pollution and traffic congestion. The inefficient bus usage results in that many people (specifically low-income residents) have limited social mobility and limited access to job interviews, jobs, schools, healthcare, and other essential urban amenities. People leave small towns in favor of bigger cities which worsens the de-population trend.
Tunnll is a project providing a sustainable urban bus service for those small towns that do not have local public transport. Tunnll targets very small and small towns with a population of around 5,000-25,000 inhabitants. Tunnll aims to be financially sustainable in the long-term. Moreover, the Tunnll project is very convenient for local residents, as they can ORDER a bus with an app, without having to wait at the bus stop (they can wait at home).
Tunnll is an emerging start-up backed by small international team passionate about improving mobility for residents of small towns. Tunnll wants to improve people’s quality of life so that they do not have to abandon their small town in favor of a big city. Tunnll’s vision is to fight de-population by bringing high-quality public transportation to small towns.
The Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm and the Tunnll project have signed a Letter of Intent which envisions implementing a next-generation local public transport service in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm through a set of preparatory steps: creation and deployment of a digital twin of the area, deployment and operating Tunnll’s service with smaller vehicles for a limited group of users, as well as deployment and operating Tunnll’s service on a full production scale with a gradual opening of access to the general public in the Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.
The Municipality of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm expressed its interest in signing a set of agreements under which Tunnll will get access to map data, access to local public infrastructure like bus stops, and access to local public marketing channels like posters and signs at bus stops, announcement boards, publications, as well as the official website and the mobile app of the Municipality.
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