On 23 June 2025, ShareDiMobiHub hosted a webinar titled “New Mobility Hubs Implementation Approaches in Leuven and Rotterdam”, bringing together representatives from cities, mobility providers, and the research community. Facilitated by POLIS, the event focused on the pilot projects in Leuven and Rotterdam that explore how shared mobility hubs can foster more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable urban mobility.
As part of the Interreg North Sea Region initiative, both cities are supporting the development of shared mobility hubs to enhance urban accessibility and liveability through ShareDiMobiHub. While each pilot targets different user groups and settings, they share a common ambition: to integrate shared mobility into everyday life and ensure that its benefits reach all segments of society.
Leuven’s socially inclusive mobility pilots
In Leuven, two innovative pilots are underway, each designed to meet the specific needs of distinct target groups.
The first pilot focuses on vulnerable residents for whom mobility options are often limited by financial, social, or digital barriers. Through a partnership involving the City of Leuven, Mobiel21, Cambio, and local community organizations, temporary mobility hubs were set up at three community centers. Residents were offered free access to a range of shared mobility options, including e-bikes, cargo bikes, and cars, for a testing period of four months.
This approach not only introduced participants to the concept of shared mobility but also revealed significant impacts. Many users reported an improved sense of freedom and accessibility in their daily lives, using the vehicles for errands, childcare, and social visits. However, the pilot also highlighted key challenges: digital literacy, the complexity of registration systems, and concerns over the affordability of continued use after the test phase.
The second pilot in Leuven is geared towards businesses and organisations. With the goal of reducing car usage for business trips, local companies were invited to test a tailored shared mobility offer. This included shared e-bikes, cargo bikes, and cars, with Blue-bike acting as a key partner in deploying a B2M (Business-to-Mobility) system across ten company sites. The early findings indicate that proximity, pricing models, and digital integration play a critical role in adoption, and that significant potential remains for expanding shared mobility solutions within the business sector.
Rotterdam’s neighborhood-based experimentation
Rotterdam’s pilot, presented by representatives from the municipality and Mobycon, approached the mobility hub concept from a neighborhood perspective. The city implemented shared mobility hubs across several districts, supported by a MaaS app that offered residents two months of free access followed by a discounted period. The aim was to lower the barrier to entry and observe behavioral shifts in a diverse urban population.
The early results are encouraging. With over 16,000 rides recorded and a majority of participants reporting more frequent use of shared mobility since joining, the initiative appears to be effective in shifting travel behavior. Most users discovered the service through city-wide communications, while others were introduced by friends or neighbors, highlighting the value of community-based promotion. Despite these successes, cost has emerged as a key concern, suggesting that continued affordability will be essential for long-term engagement.
Rotterdam is also grappling with the challenge of providing equitable service across urban and rural areas. The city currently requires shared mobility providers to make a minimum share of their fleet available in all neighborhoods, a bold policy designed to counteract the tendency for services to concentrate in high-demand zones.
Tackling transport poverty through design
In his contribution to the webinar, POLIS Advisor, Pedro Homem de Gouveia, emphasized the connection between mobility and social inclusion. He highlighted how mobility hubs, when thoughtfully implemented, can help address transport poverty by giving underserved populations greater access to jobs, education, and community life. By aligning technological innovation with social needs, projects like those in Leuven and Rotterdam are helping to reshape urban mobility systems with equity at their core. Mobility hubs are a solution for providing citizens with a wide range of mobility systems that escape from a car dependent logic. Mobility hubs are a feasible measure that can be funded through the Social Climate Fund, as shown in their policy paper regarding this topic.
Towards a shared mobility future
As ShareDiMobiHub is approaching its last months, the insights from these pilots offer valuable lessons for other cities in the North Sea Region and beyond. By sharing experiences, refining strategies, and scaling successful models, these initiatives are paving the way for more inclusive, multimodal transport networks.
Whether by embedding shared mobility in local communities or aligning it with business and policy goals, Leuven and Rotterdam are demonstrating how flexible, user-centered design can turn mobility hubs into engines of sustainable urban change.
If you want to learn more about the actions from Leuven and Rotterdam, make sure to check their concrete plans in our resources section.