SHARE-North Rocks the 3rd Mobility Hub Academy…Online!

SHARE-North Rocks the 3rd Mobility Hub Academy…Online!

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On April 22nd, the SHARE-North project held its third Mobility Hub Planning Academy. The full-day online seminar was originally planned as a two-day event in Bremen, Germany. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, some creativity was required on behalf of the organisers, the speakers and the participants. However, the online event was an absolute success and drew more than 130 registrants and participants from all across Europe and even the USA!

The event was geared at cities intending to plan and build their own mobihub as well as organisations advising cities on how to get the job done. The compact online seminar covered the planning steps from selecting the right location for your mobility hub, choosing services, engaging stakeholders, tendering procedures and communication strategies based on the experiences of the City of Bremen (Germany), Bergen (Norway) and Belgium.

Rebecca Karbaumer (City of Bremen), Lars Ove Kvalbein (City of Bergen) and Bram Seeuws (Autodelen.net) shared their first-hand experiences in planning and implementing mobility hubs in programme that was divided into three segments: Policy, The Planning Process, and Communication. The seminar included interactive Q & A sessions and in the segment titled “The Planning Process – Show-and-Tell”, three registered participants were able to present their local mobility hub cases as well as ask the experts and other members of the audience for advice. The seminar also featured a virtual cycling tour and site visit to mobil.punkte in Bremen!

Part 1 – POLICY

The take-away message from this portion of the webinar was that mobility hubs and shared modes (Carsharing in particular) can and should contribute to supporting a city’s sustainable transport goals. The issues that are to be addressed with mobility hubs and clear goals should be set before beginning the planning process. A solid policy framework or action plan lays an important foundation for mobility hub development – a vital step, especially if that development viewed as being avantgarde in a region. The presentations are available here:

PART 1_Context and Political Strategies_Bremen

PART 1_Mobility Policies_Bergen

PART 1_Mobihub Strategies_Belgium

Part 2 & 3 – THE PLANNING PROCESS

Mobility hubs in Bremen and Bergen as well as the mobihub concept in Belgium always include a few standard elements: Carsharing, bicycle parking, clear signage and highly visible locations that are easily accessible on foot, by bike and often through public transport. The core message of this segment, however, was that for mobility hubs, there is no one-system fits all configuration or design. Mobility hubs should be planned to meet the needs of the community it serves: that can be with regard to the services provided as well as the built design of the mobility hub. Aspects of accessibility, neighbourhood services, social inclusion and climate adaptation can all be included in addition to “only” providing mobility services.

The presentations of Bremen, Bergen and Autodelen.net are available here:

PART 2_The Planning Process_Bremen

PART 2_Planning and Building Mobility Hubs_Bergen

PART 2_The Mobihub Planning Process_Belgium

The guest presenters in the Show-and-Tell portion of the webinar included:Péter Dalos and András Vágány from the BKK Centre for Budapest Transport, Diederik Basta from the City of Amsterdam Amsterdam Use Case, and Ian Inglis from Transport for Greater Manchester PART 3_Greater Manchester Use Case_Ian Inglis.

Part 4 – COMMUNICATION

The main message of the final segment of the webinar was that there must always be a strong red thread of communication guiding all stages of mobility hub development – from policy to physical implementation. Cities need to adapt their communication strategies depending on their target groups. Bremen and Bergen shared how they appeal to the target groups of: politicians/policy makers and local stakeholders, local businesses and developers as well as with citizens and end users. The presentation from this segment is available here:

PART 4_Communication_Bergen and Bremen

On behalf of the SHARE-North project, Rebecca Karbaumer, Lars Ove Kvalbein and Bram Seeuws would like to thank the guest presenters and the participants for joining the first online Mobility Hub Academy as well as the overwhelming interest and positive feedback following the event!

Additional webinar documents can be downloaded here:

Webinar Introduction and Wrap-Up

200422_mobilpunkt Online Planning Academy Agenda

24 Apr 2020