MoLo Hubs: the added value of logistics at mobility hubs

Towards shared mobility

Increasing urbanisation will bring many transportation challenges to the North Sea region, including more noise and air pollution, traffic congestion and high parking stress. Shared mobility has the potential to mitigate all these issues.

Shared mobility makes vehicles more efficient, supports the transition to sustainable modes of transport and reduces dependence on cars.

Susanne Balm

Project leader and researcher

Five pilot projects

Five pilot projects in different European cities are currently underway to discover the best way to design mobility hubs. The aim is for the hubs to be highly functional, convenient centres offering new logistics services, such as parcel pickups and the collection of reusable raw materials.

Hubs can thus make an important contribution to reducing urban logistical traffic, which will help ease traffic jams, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and free op public space.

Methodology

The five pilots will take place in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Mechelen (Belgium), Hamburg (Germany), Borås (Sweden) and Aalborg (Denmark) and focus on five core themes:

1. user experience
2.  socio-economic and environmental impact
3. spatial quality
4. business model
5. operational processes of the logistics provider

AUAS is a knowledge partner of the Amsterdam pilot and is responsible for the theme of spatial quality.

Amsterdam pilot

The 30,000 vans and 4,000 trucks that enter Amsterdam every day are a major challenge for the city, as they contribute to heavy urban traffic and high emissions, which constitute a burden for the inhabitants. To address these challenges, the city is considering well-equipped hubs that help nudge service mechanics towards more sustainable and efficient travel behaviour. Technicians can park their vans in these hubs and use light electric vehicles (e-cargo bikes or e-scooters) to reach their destinations.

Amsterdam aims to monitor several key effects of implementing these hubs, including the impact on the city's goals, the logistics process of service technicians, the overall service level and the financial opportunities for both technicians and customers.

Results

The project will produce:

• Five evaluated pilots with local stakeholders
• An action plan for appropriate policy and governance for policymakers
• Strategies for scaling up pilot cases for market players
• Replication strategies for other regions

Education

This project actively involves students from the Master of Urban Technology, the Bachelor of Built Environment and the Urban Design Lab.

Team

• Susanne Balm (project leader)(opens in new window)
• Walther Ploos van Amstel
• Sába Schramkó

Partners

• Host partners (Pilot Areas): Aalborg Municipality (DK), City of Amsterdam (NL), City of Borås (SE), City of Mechelen (BE), Stadtreinigung Hamburg Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts (DE)
• Knowledge partners: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (NL), Hamburg Institute for Innovation, Climate Protection and Circular Economy (DE), Transition ApS (DK), University of Antwerp (BE)
• Network partners: Logistics Initiative Hamburg (DE), Promotion of Operational Links with Integrated Services aisbl (POLIS Network) (BE)
• Implementation partners: CoolRunner (DK), House of Venture North Jutland (DK)