Rupprecht Consult – Our Story
1998
2011
2002
2013
2023
Rupprecht Consult is an independent, medium-sized consulting and research company based in Cologne. For over 25 years, we have been developing innovative solutions for sustainable mobility in cities and regions worldwide. We combine scientific excellence with hands-on consulting – for clients from municipalities, international organisations, policy and business.
Founded in 1996 by Siegfried Rupprecht, the company became Rupprecht Consult GmbH in 1998. Together with Angéla Rupprecht, Siegfried led the firm for over 25 years, shaping it into a recognised European centre of excellence for sustainable urban mobility.
​
A milestone in the company’s history was its leading role in the EU CIVITAS programme, the EU’s flagship initiative for sustainable urban mobility. Rupprecht Consult has been active in this field since 2002, initiating and managing major demonstration projects and organising conferences, exchange, and learning programmes.
​
In 2011, the Mobility Academy was founded as a dedicated learning platform, which now offers over 100 online courses. As an internationally recognized platform for blended learning, it directly links research findings with continuing education and practical application.
We have also delivered numerous studies, analyses, and concepts that have shaped European transport policy – including developing the SUMP concept and the UMI indicators for sustainable mobility. Since 2013, the SUMP Guidelines have been an official part of EU policy; the third updated edition will be published in 2025. Today, SUMP is recognised as a global planning standard.
With a strong, interdisciplinary, and international team, Rupprecht Consult has built a business model that balances research and consulting. This has created a client network of almost 1,000 organisations – from municipalities and public bodies in Europe and worldwide to transport operators, EU institutions, international organisations, and private companies.
At the beginning of 2023, Siegfried Rupprecht handed over the management of Rupprecht Consult GmbH to Wolfgang Backhaus and Jana Spille. With the transfer to bs connecting UG – of which Wolfgang and Jana are the sole owners – the two have since jointly led the company.
They continue to build on the successful model of combining research and consulting, while placing an even stronger emphasis than before on innovation – both internally, for example in the development of our own products, and externally in the provision of innovation support as a service