On the 24th of October 2019, the eHUBS consortium organised a workshop in Leuven, one of the project partner cities, with the aim to develop several viable business models for eHUBS.
In order to have different perspectives on this matter, the consortium invited a diverse range of external public and private actors active in the field of shared mobility. In total, fifty participants collaboratively developed potential business models for the eHUBS-concept.
The ideas generated during these discussions were analysed using a framework based on scientific literature regarding business modelling design and network-based business models.
This resulted in five business model prototypes identified as follows:
- 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 the different public and private actors. In addition, the prototypes describe barriers, risks, technological and infrastructural components, revenues and costs related to each scenario.
The outcomes of the workshop contribute to a more complete understanding of the crucial aspects needed, in order to establish a successful network of eHUBs. The workshop’s results will feed into the blueprint that will be developed by the project for local governments and commercial shared mobility providers, with the objective of supporting them in implementing and operating eHUBs. The discussion between a diverse range of participants raised awareness of each other's perspectives about the eHUB-concept, thereby extending the project’s network.
As a result, the workshop may have discovered positive synergies between public and private actors in the emerging shared mobility environment.
