City Hub, the first shared mobility hub in Tricity, will start operating in August next to the Wave office building built by Skanska in Gdansk. It is a specially arranged space where everyone can rent electric motor scooters, scooters or cars. Well-connected to other parts of the metropolitan area, the City Hub is meant to encourage people to use alternative means of transport – and as such it offers an opportunity to help solve the problem of a growing volume of traffic and air pollution in the city.
The inhabitants of Tricity cover an average of over 25 km a day and spend 3 hours and 28 minutes commuting. This is 27 minutes more than the average for ten Polish metropolitan areas[1]. In Gdansk alone, in 2019 there were 640 passenger cars per 1,000 residents[2]. It often happens that these cars carry only one person. The increasing road traffic brings smog, especially in the summer (whereas winter smog mostly comes from household stoves).
Environmentally friendly means of transport can help address these challenges. Encouraging people to use such vehicles is one of the objectives of the City Hub concept developed by Skanska, Traficar and Hop.City. The City Hub will be used by tenants located next to the office buildings, local residents and students from nearby main campus of the University of Gdansk.
In the City Hub, it will be possible to rent electric motor scooters from Hop.City. There will also be a Si.City (Hop.City brand) charging point for electric scooters, which, apart from the charging function, will also provide protection against theft. There will also be Traficar vehicles and a taxi rank. In the Wave office complex, there will be as many as 442 bicycle spaces, locker rooms, showers and special elevators to the bicycle park. Open-access repair station will allow to fix bicycles in case of fault.
– The City Hub provides convenient, safe and easily accessible connections between different means of transport. Additionally, thanks to the proximity of the Fast Urban Railway and bus routes, it is well-connected to other parts of Tricity. This hub will positively affect the mobility of residents in this part of the city - says Sławomir Koc, Project Manager at Skanska. – As a socially responsible company, we have set ourselves the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 and cut a half of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Sustainability is an aspect that is taken into account in the business strategy and at every level of Skanska’s operations. Thus, the promotion of alternative means of transport is of great importance to our company – adds Sławomir Koc.
– The cooperation with Skanska is the first step towards a real launch of the City Hub as a space concept dedicated to shared vehicles. The key to the success of such a project is to aggregate different providers of services, including Hop.City electric motor scooters and Traficarc vehicles and to provide the required infrastructure to charge them all. We are very pleased that we can provide the first model of the Si charger in Tricity. It will make it possible to charge electric scooters in line with the highest safety standards and using the latest technology. We believe that the cooperation with Skanska and Tricity City Hub is the beginning of a change in the electromobility market – says Łukasz Banach, co-founder of Hop.City (JedenŚlad Sp. z o.o.).
– Together with Skanska, we’ve managed to create a real communication hub, not only for tenants, but also for the residents of Tricity. Various means of transport will be available in one place, including Traficar shared vehicles – says Konrad Karpiński, director of Traficar. – I am happy and proud that we have become a part of such an important project for Tricity, which sets a new standard not only for commercial facilities, but also for creating transport solutions in Polish cities – adds Konrad Karpiński.
It will be possible to check the availability of vehicles in the City Hub using a dedicated app Connected by Skanska available to the Wave office building tenants. The application can also be used to make carpooling arrangements.
The City Hub is being built next to the Wave investment whose first building has been already approved for use. It offers nearly 25,000 sqm of innovative and sustainable office space on 14 floors. This is the first office building in Tricity applying for a WELL Core&Shell certificate which is awarded to buildings which meet very strict requirements. In practice, it means that Wave offices are a healthy and sustainable workplace.
[1] Source: Instytut Badań Outdooru (IBO).
[2] https://www.gdansk.pl/gdanskwliczbach/transport,a,108052