Three mobility hubs in the West of England have been awarded gold standard accreditation by Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK), the national shared transport charity.
The accredited sites – at UWE Bristol’s Frenchay Campus, Abbey Wood Shopping Park in Filton, and Ridingleaze in Lawrence Weston – are designed to make it easier for people to travel sustainably by bringing together a range of transport choices in one place.
Mobility hubs connect buses with options such as e-bikes, e-scooters, car clubs and walking routes, while also offering community facilities like Wi-Fi, seating and cycle repair stands. Delivered by Meristem Design for the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WEMCA), the hubs form part of a wider pilot project, which will see 10 trial sites installed across the region.
At a launch event hosted by CoMoUK and WEMCA last week, residents were able to try out hire bikes, scooters and car clubs. The celebration at UWE Bristol highlighted how the hubs are already changing travel behaviour by making sustainable options more visible and convenient.
Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said the West of England was ‘setting a great example for the rest of the UK by embracing mobility hubs.’
He added: ‘Mobility hubs are a brilliant way of putting sustainable transport options right in the heart of bustling cities and communities. They make it far easier for both locals and tourists to get around, creating seamless links between public transport and schemes such as shared e-bikes and car clubs. They also reclaim space for green and convenient modes of transport that is usually taken up by private cars, helping to cut traffic congestion and carbon emissions in the process.’
The three gold-standard hubs offer a mix of facilities. At UWE’s Frenchay Campus, users can access e-bikes, e-scooters and e-cargo bikes alongside secure lockers, a cycle pump and a repurposed shipping container used as a ‘library of things.’ The Ridingleaze hub provides transport links alongside free public Wi-Fi and access to nearby amenities, while Abbey Wood Shopping Park hub offers onward bus connections to the city centre, Bristol Parkway and UWE Frenchay.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: ‘We need to get the West of England moving, and travel hubs are one way to help do that. Having buses, e-bikes, e-scooters, and car clubs all available in one place helps people get around – while we look to tackle wider long-standing transport challenges in our region. The three gold accreditations from CoMoUK recognise the combined authority’s work with local councils and other key stakeholders, and show other places how to make sustainable transport easier.’
WEMCA will evaluate all ten pilot hubs over the next 12 months to identify which facilities are most effective at encouraging people to shift away from private car use, helping shape future investment in sustainable transport.
Leave a Reply