Shotl launches in Lake Garda, Italy

Lake Garda lies at the foot of the Dolomite mountains and is undoubtedly one of the most attractive places in northern Italy. It is an area of breathtaking landscapes and delightful small towns nestled between the mountains and the lake.

Every summer, tourists from nearby Switzerland, Austria and Germany flock to the towns of Riva del Garda, Nago-Torbole and Arco located on its northern shore. During the spring and summer months, these 3 small towns — whose population totals 40,000 — receive 3 million tourists. This influx of visitors is, of course, welcome but it brings mobility challenges, especially given the region’s very particular topography. In addition, the closest train station is in Mori, approximately 15 km away, which causes additional traffic in and out of the towns.

Local city councils have long had plans to modernize the transport network and offer on-demand mobility within the framework of a multimodal transport system. Now, Shotl and local transport operator Trentino Trasporti have got to work to solve this challenge.

Now, an area of 13 km2 has been configured with more than 80 virtual stops and 2 vehicles complementing the pre-existing fixed-route-and-schedule buses. On-demand services are offered every day of the week, with both a ride-now and scheduled-trip setup.

The new Alto Garda operation also offers a corner-to-corner service for passengers with reduced mobility. And it has payments integrated into the app for the convenience of all users.

Trentino Trasporti is offering the app under the white label name of Bus&Go, with the peculiarity that the different time slots enhance the existing public transport: In the morning and afternoon shifts, from (8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.), some movements are restricted so as not to cannibalize ridership on fixed-route-and-schedule lines. At night, from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., the service becomes a full DRT service.

The operation covers for the transportation needs of more than 30,000 inhabitants (not counting seasonal visitors) in the area, strengthening Shotl's position as the preferred provider of mobility solutions in northern Italy.