Title
Neighborhood Mobility Hub
AUSTIN , TX
Austin, TX Demo from MetroLab Network on Vimeo.
Contact
PROJECT LEAD
Junfeng Jiao
SERVICE INFO
- jjiao@austin.utexas.edu
THE IDEA
The Austin team implemented SmartHub, a neighborhood-focused multimodal mobility hub to address a transit desert and location-based transit access issues.
THE CHALLENGE
Because of existing transit deserts and an increasingly competitive housing market, Austin residents face a challenge of connectivity. In order to afford the cost of living, more and more residents are forced to move away from downtown Austin and, therefore, move away from accessible transportation options or into transit deserts. In the Georgian Acres neighborhood specifically, residents face commute times 67% longer than the city average.
THE TEAM
Research Partners:
The University of Texas - Austin
Civic Partners:
Austin Transportation Department
Jails to Jobs
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Project Connect
Movability
THE APPROACH
SmartHub aims to mitigate long commute times by adding a new option to a former transit desert, and provides a sustainable, scalable, and transferable approach that can help to solve the first-mile, last mile problem. With SmartHub, residents will have access to several models of transportation in one location, such as (e-)bikes, e-scooters, ride hailing, electric vehicle charging stations, and public transit.
THE IMPACT
- Community co-creation: town hall meetings, interviews, and surveys.
- Mode selection optimized based on community needs.
- Site selection and development: including solar panel and WiFi.
- SmartHub shuttle and staffing – ridership data collection.
- SmartHub construction finished.
- SmartHub soft launch.