The city of Leuven currently has 41 eHUBS. On 6 October, an additional second mobile test location was opened at the Leuven Station, in the city center side. The results of the survey of first Leuven’s eHUBS location show that users use the e-sharing bikes more than once a month for mainly social activities, such as sports, visits, etc. The results also show that the use of the bike replaces the use of the car and 25% of users demand more stations (25% B2M). There is a demand for subscription mode because of the price of use. Some advantages identified for the user include the possibility to cover longer distances, going easier uphill, cover the last mile of their journeys, no subscription needed, comfort, and health benefices. Some disadvantages identified are an unclear display, unclear how the batteries are charged, bicycles are not adapted to small people, the tire pressure, and the lack of a toolkit for small repairs. There is also demand for more than 5 bikes and interest in an e-cargo bike at this location. A similar survey will be done for the new second location.
During the summer months a test campaign for the e-cargo bikes was organized, 16 people participated. The number of users is rising steadily, to over 800 users nowadays. The average distance of the trips is 9.3 km. Saturday and Sunday are the most popular days of the week to use the e-cargo bike, followed by Wednesday. Winter months, and especially December, January and February, show a low use of the e-cargo bikes.
For the e-bikes, the concept of changing the battery turned out not to work well. Therefore, the concept was revised. 35 E-bikes will now be concentrated at 6 major locations instead of multiple neighbourhood locations. Half of the retained locations will have charging infrastructure, i.e. a hybrid system. By the end of 2021, we hope to expand the fleet to 40 e-cycles. In June 2021, more than 200 people used the e-sharing bikes for the first time.
Currently, there are 125 shared cars (15 EV and 110 conventional) available and another 80 Peer-to-peer + community-based (all conventional). Through tender, another 2Ev's for combined use and 18Ev's (2023) will be installed with support from the city during 2 years.
In recent months, a tender was launched for the preparation of a nudging plan and a pilot nudging campaign around eHUBS and shared mobility for the city of Leuven and its sub-boroughs. By nudging we mean making someone do something he/she did not intend to do. Nudging can be described as consciously influencing unconscious behaviour. It is also responding to motivation, intrinsic but also external and social. Nudging is also responding to perception and enthusiasm. Nudging therefore goes beyond informing and sensitizing. The focus is first and foremost on the people of Leuven themselves and on overcoming the initial threshold to make use of the existing and growing offer of shared mobility, which is bundled in the mobipoints or eHUBS.
