Urban Mobility Hub

The world is urbanizing, the United States included. According to the United Nations Population Division[i], as of 2016, 82% of the US population lives in urban areas, with no signs of slowing[ii]. This influx of people into cities changes the value and use of land, emphasizing the importance of managing the delicate balance between plenty of inexpensive parking options to drive vibrancy and encouraging sustainable, environmentally friendly land uses that reduce parking options.

At the same time, mobility is being transformed[iii]. The one person, one fossil fuel powered car, ownership model for transportation that exists today and has driven priorities for city planners for decades is giving way to a shared, electrified and autonomous personal mobility services model[iv], with millennials at the core of this shift[v]. Car and suburban home ownership will give way to shared electromobility and urban renting over the coming decades.

The Urban Mobility Hub (UM-Hub) combines flexible multi-use infrastructure with technology for easy to use, highly utilized mobility services to deliver an economically viable way to manage the transition. With services that meet today’s reality, services that meet tomorrow’s possibilities and the ability to optimize this mix over time, city planners and land developers can simultaneously embrace this change and meet the demands of an increasingly urban society today and tomorrow.

The Mission: Develop optimized multi-use infrastructure that embraces and fosters the transition from one person, one car to shared electro-mobility within an urban environment.

Goals:

Make urban mobility and the urban-suburban connection easy
Leverage technology to create and capture customer value
Deliver services with elastic capacity and optimized pricing
Provide complementary and sustainable revenue streams

Primary Customers:

Urbanite: Lives downtown, works downtown, owns no vehicle
Commuter: Lives in the suburbs, works downtown, owns an ICE[vi] vehicle
Developer: Invests in new infrastructure, operates at a profit over 20+ years
City Planner: Balances urban vibrancy against environmental sustainability

Requirements & Features:

Easy to get from point A to point B: daily commute, ad hoc, multi-mode
Real-time service pricing that reflects supply and demand
Elastic service capacity: expands/contracts over a day, by day of the week, seasonally, yearly
Mobile app for easy planning and use of mobility services
Integrated usage data across mobility services to drive optimizations
Low-cost, automated enforcement
Customer safety: uniform lighting, convex mirrors, emergency call buttons, video
Solar generation & storage to control EV charging costs

Broadband Wi-Fi access throughout
EV charging: level 2, 3 & 4 plus inductive charging
Valet services for fast/late transitions: car, self-parking car, bicycle
Shared delivery services for last mile: fixed route, ad hoc
Car sharing and bike sharing services
Bicycle racks and lockers
Changing and shower rooms with lockers

LEED Green Garage certification[vii]
APO certification[viii]
TDM integration[ix]

Amenities by Floor:

Rooftop Park – Landscaping, paths, benches w/USB charging, lunch spots (table & chairs), play structure for youngsters, bouldering wall, solar shades
Elastic Environment[x] – Traditional parking, convertible event space w/view (weddings, wine tastings, yoga classes, etc.)
Traditional Parking – Availability, securing and paying for ad hoc or monthly parking all done via mobile app (no attendant needed)
Premium Car Services/Parking – Auto detailing salon, self-service auto bays w/lift, long-term climate-controlled vehicle storage w/valet in & out
EV Charging/Parking – Level 2, 3 & 4 stations, inductive charging, parking/charging for shared autonomous vehicles across categories (2-seat, truck, van, wagon, etc.) waiting for next use
Sharing – Bike sharing kiosk, flex-car service (e.g., ZipCar), van-pool, vehicle drop-off service w/valet & self-parking stalls[xi][xii], bicycle valet service, private bike lockers