Sunderland City Council's story
The council-led Mobility Hub aims to bring about reduced emissions, increase active travel and promote improved health and wellbeing among the council's workforce, with a wider ambition to offer sustainable modes of transport to the public as people become increasingly discerning about the impact of their lifestyle and choices on the planet. It is expected that the hub will be of particular benefit to the 10,000 people who will eventually work from Riverside Sunderland, as well as the 2,500 residents who will live in the area when the site is fully developed.
Linking with a solar energy project for St Mary's Multi Storey Car Park, where the majority of the Electric vehicles will be based, should allow for grey fleet mileage not only to be replaced by zero tailpipe emissions, but for many of these miles to be powered by renewable electricity.
Useful learnings from Sunderland City Council
The initial focus of the project was on market research into the various elements that make up a Mobility Hub, concluding; while more commonplace on the continent, where municipal transport is more prevalent, there were few UK examples and despite ambitions from many authorities this remains an emerging UK market. We'd recommend that others engage with similar projects and focus on what they consider to be the core elements of their project and look to grow from there.
To anyone looking at a similar project, even a few years down the line, we'd recommend an early review of what data is currently being collected. Our trawl of background travel data revealed the baseline data wasn't as expected, years of austerity and staff cut backs meant the council were now only recording the bare minimum required for payroll/reimbursement purposes. Renegotiating the recording of more granular baseline data was an unexpected hurdle, but essential to demonstrating the extent of model shift and carbon reduction.
Sunderland City Council's metrics
Carbon emissions saved.
Miles travelled by EV.
Reduction in grey fleet mileage.
Amount of renewable energy used by electric vehicle pool fleet.
