Following an intense preparation phase that have been slowed down by the COVID-19, the City of Dreux has finally inaugurated its first eHUBS at the beginning of 2021.
Location
Locally branded as « Mobipoint », the first 3 eHUBS have been inaugurated in February 2021. The locations were pinpointed by the city councilors, based on documentation and heating maps produced by TU Delft. Close to dense neighborhoods and public equipment such as the train station, high schools, and small businesses, each Mobipoint is also connected to the urban transport network to foster multimodality.
Service provided
The city of Dreux contracted with French mobility provider Green-on to offer 15 e-bikes and 3 e-cargo bikes distributed among the 3 stations. Affordable and simple to book, the e-bikes can be rented out from 30 min to the entire day for commuting purpose or leisure activities. Users are charged 50 cents per 30 minutes for the e-bikes and 80 cents per 30 min for the e-cargo bikes. With the annual subscription of 25 €, the first 30 minutes are free.
The e-bike shared mobility service was then completed in May 2021 by a carsharing service managed by French mobility provider Citiz, with 3 e-cars available on 2 Mobipoint (Place Mésirard and Dreux railway station). Aiming at reducing the use of private car to lower CO2 emissions and easing car traffic in Dreux, these 3 e-cars can be used either for a leisure ride on the weekend or for daily day activities as dong groceries during the week, from 6 to 7 € per hour.
First impressions – Uptake
Visible and easy to use, the e-bike service is well-known by the inhabitants, and is mostly used on weekends and afternoons. Weather-dependent, the rides are more frequent on warm and sunny days. With 15 rides/day on average since the launch of the service, the uptake appears to be satisfying up until now. Still, the city is facing vehicle availability due to a lack of spare parts supply to fix the bikes, thus creating some frustration from the users.
Carsharing service usage is quite low for the moment, with only a dozen regular users. Specific communication actions will be implemented to answer this issue.
