Monocab OWL: “A Great Future in Rural Areas”

The Monocab is a gyro-stabilized monorail system, featuring cabins for 4-6 people that travel on a single track in both directions. These compact cabins can pass each other in opposite directions and are ordered on-demand via app, 24/7, 365 days a year. The Monocab is an individual, autonomous, and sustainable feeder for public transport, designed to serve rural areas.

Monocab OWL aims to construct and demonstrate Monocab technology through a collaboration between OWL University of Technology, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, Fraunhofer IOSB-INA, and Landeseisenbahn Lippe e.V. Two Monocab demonstrators will showcase the system's feasibility on real-world route sections.

The Monocab system reactivates disused or underused rail lines in rural areas, addressing the decline of driver-based public transport. It offers an on-demand, driverless, and timetable-free service, as individual as a taxi and as efficient as a train. By leveraging existing infrastructure, Monocab promotes sustainable mobility, equal living conditions, and services of general interest.

Originating as a volunteer project, Monocab won the German Mobility Prize in 2018 and has since evolved into a collaborative effort between universities, industry partners, local authorities, and civil society. Monocab represents a change towards improved rural mobility and a brighter future for countryside communities.