Creating smart
shared mobility options
for the city of tomorrow
About SmartHubs
In a world with increasing pressure on urban space and climate, there is a clear need for innovative and sustainable mobility solutions.
SmartHubs is an EIT Urban Mobility project. It develops and validates effective and economically viable mobility hub solutions.
Current project cities
In six European cities with different urban characteristics and demographics, a comparison is made between smart mobility hubs. The aim is to test and validate economically viable mobility hub concepts that foster the modal shift to sustainable transportation and more efficient use of urban space
Click on one of the city names in the yellow menu to learn more about each hub
Fashion Hotel
Amsterdam is testing different types of shared mobility concepts and hubs to learn if and how they can be an alternative for residents to private car ownership.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Change private car trips into more sustainable and shared modes of transport.
Test the business case and impact of publicly accessible mobility hubs in non-public indoor and outdoor spaces.
Develop decision support for policymakers and developers on where to locate what kind of hubs.
Results
User experience at the Fashion Hotel smart hub was rated very positive. Its use was however very limited during the pilot phase. A slow start was followed by a substantial increase in use in 2022, with a total of 107 car rentals, 11 ebike rentals and 2 eCargobike rentals.
Demographics
Modal Split
Student Hotel
Amsterdam is testing different types of shared mobility concepts and hubs to learn if and how they can be an alternative for residents to private car ownership.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Change private car trips into more sustainable and shared modes of transport.
Test the business case and impact of publicly accessible mobility hubs in non-public indoor and outdoor spaces.
Develop decision support for policymakers and developers on where to locate what kind of hubs.
Results
User experience at the Student Hotel smart hub was rated very positive. Its use was however very limited during the pilot phase. A slow start was followed by a substantial increase in use in 2022, with a total of 292 car rentals, 150 ebike rentals and 18 eCargobike rentals.
Demographics
Modal Split
Eindhoven
The City of Eindhoven is testing the integration of smart mobility hubs with P+R (Park and Ride) areas along the main access roads going into the city.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Reduce traffic congestion on access roads into the city center and realize a low-traffic city.
Integrate shared mobility concepts at a permanent P+R hub for visitors who usually take their private cars into the city.
Develop decision support for policymakers and developers on where to locate what kind of hubs.
Results
Eindhoven developed the SmartHub Genneper Parken in June 2021. The shared bikes and e-bikes of Hely haven’t been used much during the pilot period. However, Data about the usage of the SmartHub indicate there are quite some regular users of the P+R.
Demographics
Modal Split
Helmond
Helmond aims to realize 10.000 new houses before 2040 in the area surrounding Central Station. Therefore, the city is exploring reducing parking space, using public space for green areas, and improving the sustainability of the traffic system.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Improve the use of the hub by testing various incentives.
Investigate underlying motives and bottlenecks for using shared mobility.
Testing new business models as proposed by one of the research partners in Helmond.
Results
A questionnaire revealed that various communication efforts has led to 50% of the respondents aware of the SmartHubs existence. Also, 50% of the respondents indicated that they are interested in using shared mobility, even though they haven’t done so yet. Respondents in the survey indicated that they would like to see the cargo bike more available. Unfortunately, this SmartHub encountered severe vandalism to their cargo bikes as well as technical problems, resulting in the removal of the cargo bike.
Demographics
Modal Split
Lisbon
EMEL (Lisbon’s Municipal Company for Mobility and Parking, an operating arm of the city council for mobility management) is working on a new concept of mobility hubs for short distance trips within the city of Lisbon. Our innovation team are currently working on the ideation of the concept with a citizen-centred approach, paying particular attention to the needs, preferences and expectations of users. Following a co-creation process, we aim to upgrade an existing bike sharing station into a new mobility hub to boost public transport and provide more connectivity to citizens.
Hub characteristics
One bike sharing docking station with capacity for 20 e-bikes
The bike sharing docking station is (will be) located near BUS stop and Metro Station
Other mobility services, amenities for improved multimodality (e.g. Wi-Fi hotspot, quick maintenance pitstop for bikes) and other added-value services (e.g. pick-up point, lockers, EV charging etc), that will be explored according the user needs and preferences.
Hub goals
Promote the use of shared mobility services by offering a variety of services in a single location.
Facilitate multimodality, such that local commuters will take their bike or use a shared mobility service in their trips in the city.
Promote the use of low-carbon transport solutions.
Results
In 2021, a total of 10.704 trips were made to and from this station. There is a clear preference for travelling on electric bicycles, as they represent 93% of the trips. This number increased to a total of 31.910 trips in 2022. Usage of the SmartHub is mainly linked to commuting trips.
Demographics
Modal Split
Sant Cugat
The Sant Cugat hub is located in the train station of Mira-Sol in the municipality of Sant Cugat (Metropolitan Area of Barcelona). It is part of a broader policy context to promote the use of bicycles.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Increase the use of bicycles among commuters in combination with public transport.
Increase the use of cargo e-bikes among local residents visiting the shopping mall.
Develop decision support for policymakers and developers on where to locate what kind of hubs.
Foster the use of cargo e-bikes by the shopkeepers of the shopping mall.
Results
The Mira-Sol SmartHub in Sant Cugat de Vallès was installed in July of 2021. The pilot was effective in bringing 92 additional unique users of Bicibox, who used the service 698 times as the year 2022 got underway. The Bicibox solution in Sant Cugat de Vallès was indeed proved to enhance bike use among commuters, combining this with public transportation. User experience was overall very positive.
Demographics
Modal Split
Setúbal
The hub in Setúbal is part of a development program to promote the use of public transport and bicycles among residents in the wider metropolitan area surrounding Lisbon.
Hub characteristics
Hub goals
Increase the use of bicycles among commuters and visitors in combination with public transport.
Reduce traffic congestion and parking pressure coming from the high usage rates of private cars among residents and visitors.
Develop decision support for policymakers and developers on where to locate what kind of hubs.
Results
In 2022, The SmartHub in Setubál recorded 2223 unique users and 6122 rentals per month, which indicates an average of 2,8 rentals per person per month. User experience was rated an average of 3.08 in 2022. The usage of the e-bikes has been decreasing over the months, showing that e-scooter are the preferred mode among the hub users. Regarding the rental time, e-scooters rentals have an average duration of 7,4 min while e-bikes rentals take 11,5 min.
Demographics
Modal Split
Warsaw
The Warsaw-based “Mobile City” Association (in Polish: Mobilne Miasto) is advocating for a more sustainable local transport system by implementing a network of multimodal mobility hubs offering a variety of highly-effective and eco-friendly shared mobility solutions.
Hub characteristics
- Car sharing zone with 4 parking spaces
- Micromobility zone with shared e-scooters and e-mopeds
Hub goals
Bringing shared mobility solutions closer to the citizens by gathering them in specially designated mobility hubs.
Creating more liveable and useful urban spaces by transforming low-effective parking spaces into vibrant mobility hubs.
In the long run: reducing dependency on private cars and decrease the individual motorization rate among the local society
Results
In the course of its first year, the Smarthub generated a total of 1328 rides. In 66% of cases the users were renting out shared vehicles from the hub and in 34% of cases the users were ending their trip in the hub. In 2022 the hub improved its performance and generated a total of 3278 rides (between January and September). Around 75% from this came from E-scooter use and most of the rest was from car-sharing.
Demographics
Modal Split
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Creating smart mobility solutions together
SmartHubs brings together a diverse consortium of cities, companies, and universities to develop and validate smart shared mobility hubs.
It’s an EIT Urban Mobility project that researches and runs pilots in several European cities. It aims to accelerate the successful implementation of mobility hubs, maximize citizens’ accessibility and inclusion, and reduce emissions.
We partner up with:
Sant Cugat is the city where the pilot is implanted within the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.
AMB is improving services in their public network of bike parking by a cargo bike-sharing system.
AMS Institute is involved in overall project management, designing a pilot validation framework, and software development.
Brainport Smart District implemented a small smart hub and focusses on behavioral change.
Capgemini is responsible for developing validated SmartHubs Value Propositions and business models in 2021 and 2022.
CARNET coordinates the activities of the hub in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.
Amsterdam will test different SmartHub solutions, coordinates the other pilots and helps develop a blueprint for procurement.
Eindhoven turns the Park & Ride into a SmartHub, exploring new integrated mobility opportunities.
EIT Urban Mobility acts to accelerate positive change on mobility to make urban spaces more liveable.
EMEL intends to upgrade an existing bike-sharing station into a mobility hub to boost public transport.
FGC boosts multimodality and encourages the transition towards a more sustainable transport model in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
The city of Helmond implemented a small smart hub and focusses on behavioural change.
At Hely, you can rent e-cars, e-bikes, and cargo bikes via just one app at one of our hub-locations.
Mobilne Miasto conducts a feasibility study on SmartHubs in Warsaw and launches pilot hub(s).
ZTM co-manages smart mobility hubs in Warsaw to see how it changes our understanding of mobility.
SKODA AUTO wants to use the know-how about mobility hubs to support a similar infrastructure in the Czech republic.
The Instituto Superior Técnico is developing the business models of the SmartHub and providing support to the Lisbon pilots
TML is responsible for the implementation of a mobility hub near to a multimodal station in the Setúbal Municipality.
TU Delft is involved in the design and development of the decision-support tool and citizens’ experiments.
The mission of UPC is to scientifically define and practically test a smart hubs model in a metropolitan context.
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