Design Rules

A key objective when designing a multimodal hub is to provide brief, cozy and reliable routes from one transport mode to another.

A multimodal hub should support the most environmentally friendly transport modes, such as public transport, cycling and walking, leading to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, local pollution, congestion etc. Therefore, a hierarchy should be established from the design stage and according to the purpose of the hub, in some cases this will mean for instance, starting from the active transport modes, then focusing on public transport mode optimisation, following the development or enhancement of picking up and dropping off points of travellers and cargo and finally ensuring parking spots for private and cargo vehicles. 

Ultimate scope is to prevent building oversized infrastructures which will act against urban space, or undersized which will lead to overcrowded and saturated areas. For identifying the appropriate size of a mobility hub, – in an ideal scenario – the current and future urban environment should be examined, while also anticipated traffic flows should be quantified. At the same time the implementation of multimodal hubs faces challenges around scarcity of space and battle over land-use. Those constraints are to be foreseen and will impact the capacity to develop hubs with ‘optimal’ dimensions.  

Within a multimodal hub all access points of different transport modes, such as bus stops, car parks, bicycle parking racks, drop-off areas, etc., should be connected so as to reduce the cognitive distance. The navigation and transfer between modes shall indeed be made as intuitive as possible and not require multiple movements through the area to understand the connections. This can be achieved by adding physical spaces and providing suitable services (information, signage, guidance) that facilitate transfers. 

The protection of users, cargo transferred, facilities and equipment is a key component when designing a mobility hub. Security measures need to take into account several issues; vandalism, theft, anti-social behaviour, accidental damage, etc.  Those are also key to define the necessary insurance for the hub.  

Hubs could provide the opportunity for different social groups to meet, building social networks and community spaces.

Hubs could provide retail opportunities to users taking into account existing retail activities in the surrounding area.