A roundtable on the evolution of multimodal hubs by 2030 at the Smart Mobility Summit of Cities and Regions: The role of data and digitalisation

The New EU Urban Mobility Framework outlines a reinforced approach to TEN-T urban nodes. It states that “as part of the TEN-T, urban nodes are required to make it possible for passengers to access information, book, pay their journeys and retrieve their tickets through multimodal digital mobility services, allowing public transport to be the backbone of collective mobility in urban nodes by 2030”.  

The New Urban Mobility Framework emphasises the need for integrated links between rural, suburban and urban areas in the planning of the TEN-T network and calls for suitable infrastructure to improve and expand public transport. The example given is of “multimodal hubs with stations/stops that are effectively interconnected with urban rail, metro, tram, bus, coaches, shared mobility services and better and bigger park and ride facilities, and that are better equipped with appropriate bike parks and publicly accessible recharging and refuelling points for low- and zero-emission vehicles. Designing all these facilities also requires an increased focus on persons with disabilities.”  

A roundtable with representatives from cities and regions at the Smart Mobility Summit of Cities and Regions during the ITS European Congress in Istanbul, considered the progress towards these goals. The discussion focused on some of the challenges standing in the way of the rollout of multimodal hubs, including the data/digital dimension, and explored ways to overcome them. The four main challenges that emerged were:

Implementation of physical infrastructure

A key aspect of the success of multimodal hubs is their integration where they are most needed as sustainable and efficient connectors of cities with rural, peri-urban and urban areas. In reality, however, they are sometimes being implemented where space is available (e.g. Stuttgart) rather than where they would be the most beneficial. This mismatch leads to some hubs being underused.  

Data on traffic flows and travel patterns can help to make sure the hubs are implemented where they are needed the most and provide the evidence base for more informed decision-making and arguments towards prioritising investment.

The projected growth of many metropolitan areas and urban nodes provides an opportunity to carefully plan transport options from scratch, and alongside the creation of new neighbourhoods, following the principles of transit-oriented development. Digitalisation offers the opportunity to integrate new and more flexible and efficient types of mobility services, such as demand-responsive transport (DRT) and shared automated vehicles. The new developments in Belfast are an excellent example of this approach. The city made use of former industrial land for the construction of a new railway station, bringing different disciplines together and integrating different modes with the help of ITS.

Fragmentation of authority and cooperation

The different transport services to be integrated within urban nodes are often managed by different entities, constituting a mix of public and private stakeholders and operators. Examples from Patras and Katowice showed that it can be hard for cities/urban nodes to bring these different stakeholders and interests around the table as well as make them cooperate towards multimodal integration, both physically and digitally. The necessary leverage instruments and/or regulatory competencies are often lacking to align and integrate the different interests and services. In the absence of such instruments, evidence through data can help to push for decisions, as well as making use of regulatory tools for the disposal of cities, such as urban vehicle access regulations (UVAR).  

The privatised delivery of a publicly subsidised service has led to friction and a situation where public authorities have limited impact on privately operated services of public interest. Therefore, there is a reverse trend in the UK to bring privatised public transport back into public ownership and thus use that public transport backbone as a catalyst for a more integrated multimodal approach.

Public procurement can also be used as a strategic tool through a focus on delivering specific outcomes rather than on products or vehicles.

Governance  

The challenges stemming from fragmented decision-making powers, mentioned above, link to the need for different levels of government to cooperate better. This requires ensuring that the right competence is at the right level of government, so that cities and regions have all the regulatory tools at their disposal to implement multimodal hubs.  

It is important for cities and regions to be empowered and supported by their national government. The support can take different forms; for instance, in the Netherlands the national efforts on data standardisation have been really beneficial for cities and regions and has also led to Dutch cities being amongst the frontrunners in Europe when it comes to data-driven decision-making and the management of digital transport infrastructure.

The functional urban area approach of urban nodes also requires close cooperation between local and regional authorities, and beyond administrative boundaries. A stronger role for the regional level, next to the city level, is therefore recommended.

A similar trend can be observed in the UK, where smaller local governments are regrouped into larger regional governments, reflecting commuter patterns and travel-to-work areas, e.g. Transport for West Midlands and Transport for Greater Manchester.

Funding

The lack of funding and of a business case for the multimodal hubs proves to be a barrier for many of the cities that need to transform by 2030.  

On the European level, the revised TEN-T regulation identifying the urban nodes and the related requirements does not match the necessary funding envisaged under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Given that the roll-out of these hubs benefits the whole TEN-T, this is a major gap.

The national level should support cities and regions in the implementation of these hubs, which impact the performance of the wider network both nationally and internationally.

New public-private partnerships need to be explored to find the right business case and unlock private investment alongside public funds.

This article was written based on a report provided by Karen Vancluysen, POLIS (moderator), and Lampros Yfantis, ERTICO-ITS Europe (rapporteur), on the roundtable discussion at the Smart Mobility Summit of Cities and Regions on the topic ‘Evolution of multimodal hubs by 2030 – role of digitalisation and data.’ 

Participants:

Observers:

This article is part 3 of a 4-part series.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4