
By Eric Murphy
For DOTs looking to create a more connected and multimodal transportation network, mobility hubs are an emerging piece of infrastructure that can make changing modes and traveling across a region more convenient and environmentally friendly. But not everyone has the same ability to access and use these hubs. State DOTs looking to build mobility hubs can incorporate the needs, ideas, and feedback of disadvantaged groups to better plan, design, and build these spaces for everyone who might use them.
Mobility hubs are physical centers where travelers can transfer between buses, trains, carshare vehicles, bikes, and other forms of transportation safely and conveniently, helping users make last-mile connections. They also have the potential to be great public spaces, where travelers can relax, get groceries, or shop while waiting for a connection or charging an electric vehicle.
Colorado’s DOT is creating a network of mobility hubs to connect its Bustang intercity buses to local public transit, facilitating easier travel across the state without a private vehicle. SSTI hosted a recent webinar where Bustang program manager Ben Gellman talked about the program in more detail.
As more DOTs explore mobility hubs, new research is focusing on how to make these spaces more equitable, both as physical spaces and as part of a network that makes important destinations accessible for all. A recent study by Transportation Research Part D looked at how development of mobility hubs can incorporate the needs of various disadvantaged groups who can find using these spaces difficult: children and teenagers; rural users; older people and those with impairments; and people with low incomes.
The biggest takeaway from the research was that the design of both the hub and the vehicles located there was critical for disadvantaged groups. Participants wanted self-explanatory and stair-free spaces, sheltered waiting rooms, benches, and restrooms, as well as shade in outdoor areas. They identified other features like parking and EV charging for rural users in mobility hubs on the outskirts of cities, grocery stores for informal caregivers to reduce the need for additional trips, and tactile paving for the visually impaired.
Reliability of the transportation network serving a mobility hub was another important factor for participants who had impairments. These users especially needed to have confidence in the condition and duration of trips they would take from the hub.
While apps and other digital tools have made mobility easier for some, their development has often meant traditional sources of information like printed materials or human assistance are harder to come by. Many people may lack a smartphone, active and reliable internet service, a credit card, or digital skills needed to access services and information at mobility hubs. The study’s authors recommended information necessary to use the system be available through other means that don’t require digital tools or skills like printed timetables, maps, or a staffed information kiosk.
Digital offerings could also be made more inclusive:
“The interfaces of apps and software should be made very simple, intuitive and error-proof. Reducing the number of different software programs necessary to use hubs is highly relevant, as this would allow users to access all services with a single app. This is especially relevant for digitally excluded people, people with low literacy of the language available in the software, and people with cognitive or visual impairments.”
The key to making mobility hubs more inclusive of disadvantaged groups is to ask those groups what they need and involve them in planning and design through proactive, early, effective, and consistent public engagement.
Photo credit: Fons Heijnsbroek on Unsplash