DOMINO Saves Time, Money, and CO₂ on the Way to Lecture Halls, Labs, and Offices

Traffic is backing up on the roads, especially around larger cities. A quick glance into the slowly moving cars reveals the same picture everywhere: one person behind the wheel, no passengers. Statistically, it’s exactly 1.08 people per vehicle commuting to work, according to a 2023 study by the Ministry of Transport. To help students and staff get to campus in a more eco‑friendly and stress‑free way, FH Upper Austria—supported by the Province of Upper Austria and Fluidtime—has launched a mobility solution complete with an app and community that combines public transport information with ridesharing options: DOMINO.

DOMINO is an app that helps users plan their trip to FH Upper Austria’s campuses in Hagenberg, Linz, Steyr, or Wels using different modes of transportation. In addition to providing public transport schedules and cycling routes, the app also enables users to search for or offer carpooling opportunities. These ridesharing options can be shared within the student and staff communities—or, with additional approval, even beyond.

Logistikum Researches Visionary Mobility Concepts
DOMINO originated from a research project by the Logistikum at the Steyr Campus of FH Upper Austria and the IT company Fluidtime Data Services. The goal was—and still is—to create a nationwide solution that improves individual mobility in Austria, whether through ridesharing or by highlighting alternatives to car use.

“With a comprehensive mobility concept, we aim to offer the lowest‑CO₂ routes possible to FH Upper Austria’s lecture halls, labs, and offices. DOMINO is a key building block in this effort,” says Mag. (FH) Michael Scheinecker, MBA, Sustainability Manager at FH Upper Austria, explaining why the university has recently intensified the promotion of this app.

Behavior Change Is Essential
The success of such concepts depends heavily on the motivation of the target groups. Mobility researcher Andrea Reindl, MSc, from the Logistikum at FH Upper Austria, is well aware of this: “DOMINO is far more than a technical tool. Mobility transformation doesn’t happen overnight—but DOMINO makes it visible that there are more ways to get from A to B than the ones we’re used to.”

Because people respond particularly well to rewards, FH Upper Austria uses the app’s built‑in points system. When users collect enough points—by sharing rides or offering carpools—they can redeem them for vouchers for the campus cafeterias or a nearby bakery.

App Already Usable for Broad Segments of the Population
The app continues to be developed, is free of charge, and openly accessible. Anyone can offer rides. However, benefits—such as reward points—can only be generated within communities that can be created by companies or institutions for a fee.

At the MobiLab 2.0 of the Logistikum, there is strong awareness that safety concerns, particularly among women, pose a major barrier to widespread ridesharing adoption. Another research project, funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), is dedicated specifically to this issue.

Austria, by the way, has a “historic” example of shared mobility solutions: In the episode “Karrieren” of the iconic hit series “Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter,” the main character Edmund “Mundl” Sackbauer praised the Turkish Dolmuş shared taxi as a model—calling already in the 1970s for “Ganz Wien in a Auto!” (“All of Vienna in one car!”). 

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