On the 24th of October 2019, the eHUBS consortium organised a workshop in Leuven, one of the project partner cities, with the aim of discussing and developing different viable business models for eHUBS.
In order to have different perspectives on this matter, the consortium invited a diverse range of stakeholders. Among them: representatives of local and regional authorities, public and private actors active in the field of shared and electric mobility, and advertisement agencies. In total, fifty participants collaboratively developed potential business models for the eHUBS-concept.
The ideas generated in the workshop were analysed by the University of Antwerp, using a framework based on scientific literature regarding business modelling design and network-based business models. As a result of this work, the conclusions collected in the workshop were processed in a thorough analysis that identified five business models prototypes for eHUBS:
- First-/Last-mile eHUB-network
- Clustered shared (e-)mobility network
- Point-of-interest eHUB-network
- Hybrid eHUB-network
- Closed eHUB-network
These prototypes specify different scenarios wherein eHUBs can be beneficial to all stakeholders, thereby realigning the interests of public and private actors. In addition, the prototypes describe barriers, risks, technological and infrastructural components, revenues and costs related to each scenario.
The report of the lessons learnt in the workshop helps understanding which aspects are crucial when intending to establish a successful network of eHUBs. Therefore, it will also contribute to the blueprint that will be developed at the end of the project for local governments and commercial shared mobility providers with the objective to support them in implementing and operating eHUBs.
Besides the fruitful discussions among a wide range of public and private stakeholders on business cases for eHUBS, the workshop also contributed to raise awareness of the eHUB concept and stimulated positive synergies among its participants, thereby extending the project’s network.
In order to read the full workshop report, please click here.
