Ten recommendations to stimulate the uptake of shared electric mobility hubs

eHUBS project partner Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS) produced recommendations based on behaviour change principles to support cities to stimulate eHUBS uptake

In the eHUBS project six European cities are aiming for greener, CO2-neutral cities by providing shared and electric mobility hubs. Instead of using private cars, citizens can use electric and shared modes from a mobility hub in their neighbourhood. But how can you entice citizens to start using these hubs, as for many it proves difficult to abandon or decrease the use of their private car? Behaviour change is key to make the eHUBS a success. The research group Psychology for Sustainable Cities of the Amsterdam University of Applied Science, one of the project partners in the project, has drawn up ten recommendation how psychological principles can be used to in communication strategies around the eHUBs.

As one of the three knowledge institutions in the eHUBS consortium, the Research Group Psychology for Sustainable Cities of the Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS) uses insights from applied psychology as a theoretical framework for conducting behavioural research around the eHUBS. The focus of this research is to support cities, firstly the eHUBS pilot cities, to develop a mix of effective interventions: such measures would have the objective to change the mobility patterns of citizens, and in particular of car users and car owners, and to foster a modal shift towards shared and electric mobility, as offered at eHUBS.

One of the results of this work is a booklet issued by AUAS in February 2020 titled Applying psychological concepts to assist the uptake of eHUBs, which aims to gather a set of recommendations that, if put in practice by local authorities, would contribute to achieving CO2 reductions in cities through a broad uptake of eHUBS. According to this objective, the main target group identified by the publication is not transport users in general, but specifically owners of private vehicles. The reason for this choice is that they are identified as the target group that would have the highest potential to contribute to emissions reduction in cities, through a change of travel behavior fostered by eHUBS uptake.

The ten recommendations produced are accompanied by possible concrete actions for cities, based on psychological concepts. As a support action to this crucial task, a workshop has been organized by the AUAS on the 5^th of March 2020, with all eHUBS pilot cities and project partners. The objective of this workshop was to support cities in reflecting further on the different element of the behavior jigsaw puzzle, and therefore to be able to engage effectively with the target groups they identified for the promotion of their eHUBS. The participants were stimulated to focus on different mobility behaviours that local authorities want to change through the deployment of eHUBS and to experiment with designing interventions that would lead to the desired behavior change.

Click here to download the booklet outlining the 10 recommendations for the uptake of eHUBS.

Click here to take a look at the result of the workshop.