By Bart Treece, Director, Mobility Innovation Center
We are in the midst of a transportation evolution driven in part by two things that have been around for some time: electricity and micro-mobility, like bikes and scooters. Electrified or “e-Mobility” simply puts a charge into many of the modes that we already have, but in doing so, can provide better access for people of all abilities, make taking a bike more appealing (especially where we have hills), and also promote a cleaner fuel source. But how do you create a space where anyone can catch an electric bus, charge and electric car, or park an e-bike to connect all these ways we now travel?
Consider the humble park and ride. What was initially designed to serve the car commuter to access transit now has new potential as a “mobility hub,” which is a place for people to access many forms of transportation. E-Mobility hubs take the concept one step further, incorporating electrification of the full variety of vehicles and systems, taking advantage of opportunities to potentially integrate solar and other onsite renewable energy and prepare for the possibility of hydrogen power.
E-Mobility, in a space shared by many partners, requires new ways of thinking. Seeking a path forward to help make this happen, King County Metro, Sound Transit, Seattle City Light, and the Seattle Department of Transportation worked with the Mobility Innovation Center to develop “Electrified Mobility Hubs: A Blueprint for the Future of Transit Infrastructure.” This effort was led by Jan Whittington and Rachel Berney from the Department of Urban Design and Planning, and Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee from the Department of Construction Management, each brought much needed expertise from their field.
This research represents a new approach for the joint conceptual development of the features, functions, and operations of electrified mobility centers. Researchers combined a series of workshops over the course of a year, informed by principles of urban design, urban mobility data, field research, industry contacts, and literature reviews, in a graduated process of urban design.
Together, researchers and public agencies worked from an initial focal point in the case of Burien Transit Center, to a subset of five facilities in the greater transportation network, to a set of universally applicable urban design, cost, and electrical load considerations, including a cost-estimation model based on forecasted electrical load demands and charging infrastructure additions. Ready for application to the system as a whole, these products can help agencies and future partners plot a more comprehensive pathway together in anticipation of preliminary engineering and construction procurement.
As an added benefit to this work, Professor Lee’s has a record of innovation for his cost-estimation model, that is being used by Seattle City Light!
Some key takeaways from the report include:
- Mobility hub design is a team effort. Early partner and stakeholder engagement, including transportation providers, city departments of transportation, and utilities, is needed to jointly and efficiently determine operational and user needs and their implications for capital investment in electrified mobility hubs.
- Agree to set standards together. Develop consensus amongst transportation agencies for charging equipment and standards to ensure transit and light-duty vehicles interoperability. Design standards can reduce the cost of maintaining service through interoperability and the cost of providing resilience through redundancy.
- Everyone needs reliable electrification. Electrification raises the value and utility of public assets. Protect publicly funded charging equipment to maintain availability and confidence with users and reduce costs for maintenance and repair. This may include using parking garages, cardkeys, and gates to control access to equipment.
- Make the system easy to use. Information technology has the potential to reduce barriers and increase the convenience of electrification and micro-mobility, as well as transit. Seek opportunities to leverage existing technology for new applications, such as transit cards for electric vehicle charging and reservations.
- Design to provide value to the community. Transit and transport facilities occupy valuable space in densifying urban environments. Act on opportunities to create a welcoming and safe public space for the community and address potential needs, such as affordable housing, within the existing facility footprint.
E-mobility hubs are a game-changing opportunity and can provide excellent opportunities to connect people with better travel choices and a brighter future.