Glasgow pop-up transport hub helps increase active travel

A new pop-up mobility hub has helped Glasgow have greener, healthier, and more affordable local journeys. National shared transport charity Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) unveiled the hub at the end of October on West Prince’s Street in Kelvinbridge.

Data shows the hub was used over 150 times in under seven weeks. The shared bike station is operated by nextbike.

Mobility hubs reduce the need for travel using private cars. It brings the community together in a single place. The hub is strategically placed in key travel corridors to connect schemes such as shared bikes, e-scooters, and car clubs with public transport and other active travel options.

This concept is already in place across Europe and North America and is growing in popularity in the UK. The bikes are housed in a space that would normally be a parking bay and is the size of one and a half cars.

A seating area along with plants and shrubs is also provided in the hub, as well as a free bike repair stand with tools and a pump. The hub also works as a meeting point for people to take part in community activities.

Since it was introduced residents have been able to take part in free activities, such as guided bike rides and walks, bike maintenance classes for beginners, bike health-check ups, and a drop-in balance bike session for children learning how to ride.

A £10 nextbike voucher was offered to people living nearby the hub, encouraging a higher uptake in services which operate across Glasgow.

Between 31 October 31 and 18 December 18, the Kelvinbridge hub nextbike station was used 140 times by people either starting of finishing a journey.

The mobility hub has now shut down to be turned back into a parking space. The funding for the project came from Paths for All’s Smarter Choices, Smarter Places Active National Fund.

Laura Wright, head of programmes at CoMoUK, said: “It’s great to see that the pop-up mobility hub we installed in Kelvinbridge in the autumn has been so well used by residents in the short time that it has been in place.

“These small, simple and flexible pieces of transport infrastructure have proved very successful in other parts of the world and there’s every reason to roll them out here too.

“Mobility hubs reclaim space for sustainable, 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.

“They also make it far easier for people to get around by creating seamless links between public transport and schemes such as shared bikes, e-scooters and car clubs.

“We would be delighted to talk to local leaders in other towns and cities across Scotland who want to improve their urban environments about installing their own mobility hubs.”

Cllr Angus Millar, Glasgow City Council’s convener for transport and climate, said: “The practicality and convenience of mobility hubs encourages more people to travel actively, and I am delighted that the pop-up at Kelvinbridge has proved to be so popular.

“These highly visible, safe and accessible spaces are the kind of interventions we are committed to exploring, as they can increase the attractiveness of cycling for everyday journeys, meaning less reliance on private car travel.

“In a city where almost half of all households have no access to a car, there is a basic fairness in making it easier to access the other types of transport that people rely upon.

“It is also essential we do everything we can to limit the transport-related carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, and supporting access to sustainable transport through initiatives like this are a great step in the right direction.”

Barnsley has also been the recipient of a similar transport hub.