An ever-growing topic that continues to find its way into discussions in the transportation world is the concept of a mobility hub. Mobility hubs benefit the community and can improve how people travel throughout the area.
Mobility hubs have different goals based on location, but in this post, we will highlight adding jobs to one community while also allowing access to additional workforce for others. What is a mobility hub and why does it matter, you ask? Read on to find out!
What is a Mobility Hub?
A mobility hub, also known as a transportation hub, is a central area where car sharing, bike sharing, public transit, and other means of transportation all intersect at a single location. This allows members of a community to access multiple ways of transportation out of a single place. The first leg of a commute could be from a home to the mobility hub on a bicycle and then from there catching a train to another location outside of the immediate community.
The idea behind a mobility hub is to improve the way people travel between local communities.
Mobility hubs become a multimodal way for different communities to be accessible to each other for things like work, recreation, exploration, etc.
What are the Goals of Mobility Hubs?
First and foremost, a mobility hub reduces or eliminates the need to own a personal vehicle for those who reside in less walkable communities. Mobility hubs thrive in areas that benefit from multiple modes of transportation, allowing transit to and from places like work, school, or restaurants. The hub provides “access” that some communities struggled with or never had before.
In addition to reducing or eliminating personal vehicles, a hub can bring additional jobs to communities further out from larger cities. Employment opportunities are added with public transit, increased access, and for the maintenance and control of the hub itself.
Where can you get funding for a Mobility Hub?
Infrastructure funding is at an all-time high of $350 billion over the next 4 years. Using this funding for mobility hubs has been limited in the past due to less focus on mobility hubs and less previous funding available.
With access to a record-breaking amount of infrastructure dollars, there will undoubtedly be an increased need for the workforce to be accessible inside the cities, creating even more infrastructure needs for the next four years and beyond.
Think of the opportunities for funding with a mobility hub. Not only will the mobility hub will be its own project, but it will also provide the means of transportation to supply the future infrastructure projects inside larger or geographically-connected cities.
What happens after the funding has been received?
Received federal funding? Think your area is a transportation hub candidate? Interested in hearing more? We have experts on board that can bring your next steps to life.
Let’s talk. Reach out to us at info@msconsultants.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Graphic by: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons