Smart Mobility Hubs as Game Changers in Transport, Duration: 5/2021-4/2024

Can mobility hubs, on-street locations offering a variety of shared mobility options such as electric bicycles and cars, contribute to inclusive and sustainable urban mobility? This is examined in the 3-year project SmartHubs which started in May 2021 and will run until April 2024. The project is one of 15 international projects from the JPI ERA-NET Cofund Urban Accessibility and Connectivity call funded by 23 national funding agencies from 16 countries in Europe. The SmartHubs project is coordinated by Prof. Karst Geurs from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology, at the University of Twente, with a budget of 2 million Euros.

SmartHubs will examine if mobility hubs can be a game changer towards inclusive and sustainable urban mobility.  Will mobility hubs improve cycling and public transport and reduce car use? Will they promote better access to shared mobility like e-scooters, car-sharing and bike-sharing? SmartHubs will take a people-first approach and test novel participatory and impact assessment tools including technologies such as augmented reality combining the real and online world as well as participatory planning and evaluation approaches involving all stakeholders and especially vulnerable-to-exclusion persons.

The research will be conducted in Living Labs in the Rotterdam-the Hague metropolitan region, Brussels, Munich, Vienna and Istanbul.

  • The focus of the living lab in Vienna is on designing a citywide mobility hub network through co-creation processes. This Living Lab provides a unique flexibility in (re-)designing user-centric mobility hubs and provides room to experiment on the design level of SmartHubs.
  • The focus of the living lab in Brussels is on the co-creation of the first neighbourhood-level prototype mobility hub with key stakeholders (citizens, businesses, transport operators, municipalities, etc.) in Anderlecht.
  • The focus of the living lab in Rotterdam-The Hague is on the digital and physical integration with public transport.
  • The focus of the living lab in Munich is on integrated passenger and freight transport (city logistics) mobility hubs.
  • The focus of the living lab in Istanbul is on mobility hubs in unplanned and growing urban developments in an emerging economy.

More information about the project and all partners involved can be found here: https://www.smartmobilityhubs.eu/

[Translate to English:] Photo: Mobility hub in Vienna (WienMobil station Simminger Platz). Photo: Yusak Susilo