Business Model Blueprints for the Shared Mobility Hub Network
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
sustainability Article Business Model Blueprints for the Shared Mobility Hub Network Elnert Coenegrachts * , Joris Beckers , Thierry Vanelslander and Ann Verhetsel Department of Transport and Regional Economics (TPR), University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium; [email protected] (J.B.); [email protected] (T.V.); [email protected] (A.V.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Shared (electric) mobility is still facing challenges in terms of reaching its potential as a sustainable mobility solution. Low physical and digital integration with public transport, a lack of charging infrastructure, the regulatory barriers, and the public nuisance are hindering the uptake and organization of shared mobility services. This study examines the case of the shared mobility hub, a location where shared mobility is concentrated, as a solution to overcome these challenges. To find ideas informing how a network of shared mobility hubs can contribute to sustainable urban mobility and to overcome the aforementioned challenges, a business model innovation approach was adopted. Focus groups, consisting of public and private stakeholders, collaboratively designed five business model (BM) blueprints, reaching a consensus about the value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms of the network. The blueprints, defined as first-/last-mile, clustered, point-of- interest (POI), hybrid, and closed mobility hub networks, provide alternative solutions to integrate sustainable transportation modes into a coherent network, enabling multi- and intermodal travel behaviour, and supporting interoperability, sustainable land use, and ensured access to shared Citation: Coenegrachts, E.; Beckers, (electric) travel modes. However, which kind of network the local key stakeholders need to commit J.; Vanelslander, T.; Verhetsel, A. to depends on the local policy goals and regulatory context. Business Model Blueprints for the Shared Mobility Hub Network. Keywords: shared mobility; docked shared mobility; dockless shared mobility; shared mobility Sustainability 2021, 13, 6939. https:// hub; transit-oriented development; business model innovation; network-centric business model; doi.org/10.3390/su13126939 collaborative network; sustainable urban mobility Academic Editors: José Manuel Valsello and Juan Gomez 1. Introduction Received: 20 May 2021 Transport in Europe accounted for 27% of Europe’s total GHG emissions in 2017 [1]. Accepted: 15 June 2021 Published: 20 June 2021 Cities in particular encounter additional issues related to transportation, such as increased noise and air pollution, increased traffic congestion, high parking pressure, less accessibility, Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral and high accident costs due to intensified confrontation between all kinds of road users. with regard to jurisdictional claims in The intensified urbanisation and corresponding densification of people using the same published maps and institutional affil- infrastructure and systems to move from point A to point B add to the challenges cities and iations. urban planners are currently dealing with. Therefore, Europe has seen the establishment of such initiatives as Civitas [2], EIT Urban Mobility [3], and Eltis [4] to accelerate the transition towards smart and sustainable urban mobility. Shared mobility can support this transition and has the potential of becoming one of the pillars of a sustainable urban mobility system [5,6]. It increases the utilisation and efficiency of transportation assets, Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. supports the shift towards sustainable modes of transport (i.e., zero-emission vehicles and This article is an open access article actives modes of transport), and reduces car-dependency, making the transport system distributed under the terms and more flexible and accessible [5]. However, in order to reach the full potential of shared conditions of the Creative Commons mobility, there are still challenges to overcome [7,8]. First, the lack of physical infrastructure Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// (e.g., dedicated bike lanes, charging infrastructure) and mismanagement of public space are creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ hindering the uptake of shared and electric mobility. The emergence of electric docked and 4.0/). dockless shared micromobility services (i.e., e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds) highlighted Sustainability 2021, 13, 6939. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126939 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2021, 13, 6939 2 of 24 the lack of available public space, causing a clutter of shared micro-vehicles on pavements and public roads, and safety incidents [9]. Second, the lack of integration within the current transportation system, and public transport in particular, reduces the utility shared mobility could provide, certainly when focusing on the first- and last-mile trips [10]. The potential gain of this integration also depends on infrastructure adjustments and investments in the transit stations network [11]. Lastly, digital infrastructure is considered a critical element by researchers and practitioners to offer an efficient urban transport system which does not solely focus on the private car and increases the flexibility shared mobility can offer. Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) solutions have been introduced to facilitate multimodal and intermodal travelling, integrating new mobility services and traditional travelling methods, as public transport, walking, and biking [12]. This paper studies the case of the shared mobility hub that could potentially address these challenges and thereby support shared mobility to become an integral part of the urban transport system. The shared mobility hub clusters different new and conventional mobility services at a physical location. Its functions, services, facilities, and infrastructure requirements depend on the local urban context, including the policy goals of the different stakeholders. In order to identify mechanisms the shared mobility hub can provide to tackle the challenges, and subsequently how the shared mobility hub should be organised and which activities should be carried out in order to achieve the proposed goals, this paper has gone through a business model design process, developing provisional business models for the shared mobility hub. The concept of the business model has been extensively researched in academic litera- ture but is not uniquely defined. A review by Massa et al. [13] of business model literature has indicated that three views emerge within the literature: “(1) the business model appear- ing as an attribute of real firms, (2) the business model appearing as cognitive and linguistic schemas, and (3) the business model appearing as formal conceptual representation” (p. 88). In the further stage of this research, the third definition of the business model will be used. This means that the business model is describing the aspects and activities of the (network of) organisation(s) that brings the (network of) organisation(s) closer to achieving its goals and objectives. This representation allows expressing, articulating and challenging new ideas, reducing the complexity how the organisation or network of organisations is going to create and capture value. Recent sustainability management research also underlines the importance of public value creation (e.g., social and environmental) next to the traditional value creation for private stakeholders when considering the business model [14–16]. This is certainly relevant in the field of urban mobility where public and private actors are operating in a public environment, looking for public as well as private value creation. This can lead to conflicting objectives. In this context, a public-private business model could be an opportune model to realign the interests, thereby facilitating sustainable mobility growth [17]. This implies however cooperation within a network of actors. A business model that expresses the activities, relations, objectives, and roles of the network actors and the network itself is required to identify ways for achieving the common and private goals. The process of designing a business model is defined as ‘business modelling’. It is a useful process to generate ideas about the mechanisms that will create, deliver, and capture the intended value [18]. In this regard, it allows the different stakeholders to express their needs and explain the expertise, knowledge, and (in)tangible assets they possess that could help the network reaching their objectives [19]. This paper designs different conceptual network-centric models for the case of shared mobility hubs, relying on network-based business modelling design frameworks. They help to understand which types of network can be accomplished, which kind of value they will create, and how these value propositions can reduce the hurdles of shared mobility. The remainder of this article is divided into five sections: Section2 presents the relevant business modelling design frameworks on which we have built our network- based design framework. Subsequently, Section3 describes the process of creating and experimenting with business model blueprints for the shared mobility hub. Furthermore, Sustainability 2021, 13, 6939 3 of 24 Section4 summarizes the main aspects of the five blueprints that have been developed. Section5 interprets the value creation mechanisms. Finally, Section6 concludes this paper, summarizing its main findings, along with policy implications