UITP Strengthens Work on Integrated Mobility Through a New Mobility Hubs Platform
Mobility hubs are playing an increasingly important role in how public transport is experienced and how it connects with shared and active mobility across urban and less densely populated areas.
Reflecting this growing focus, UITP is strengthening its work on the topic through a new Mobility Hubs Platform, bringing together expertise from across its global membership to improve the passenger experience and expand access to integrated public transport systems.
The growing importance of mobility hubs was recently highlighted at the UITP Policy Board meeting in Madrid, where host organisation EMT Madrid presented local developments and the strategic role hubs can play in integrated mobility systems.
By connecting perspectives from across the association, the new Platform will support knowledge exchange on a topic that is becoming increasingly strategic for public transport systems worldwide.
Why mobility hubs matter
Mobility hubs act as physical anchor points for integrated and sustainable mobility. From central stations to neighbourhood hubs, they bring together different transport modes in one connected space.
By purposefully designing the spaces and systems within and around them, mobility hubs help smooth the passenger experience and support more accessible, seamless journeys.
As mobility systems become more multimodal, these connecting points matter more than ever. They can help people move more easily between modes, improve first- and last-mile connections, and reinforce the role of public transport within wider mobility networks.
Mobility hubs also support a more people-centred approach to mobility. As nodes in the transport network and centralities in land use, mobility hubs can improve access to services, create more attractive, sustainable and user-friendly spaces, and support more liveable cities and regions.
From major stations to local hubs
So, what exactly is a mobility hub – and what forms can it take?
One of the key features of mobility hubs is their diversity. They are not a single type of transport space. Mobility hubs can range from large interchange hubs, such as central train stations, to suburban park-and-ride hubs, local public transport interchanges, and newer types of hubs such as neighbourhood and micromobility hubs.
This variety reflects the different roles hubs can play across urban, suburban and rural areas. Some are designed primarily to support transfers between modes during a journey. Others primarily provide access to mobility options and services closer to where people live and work.
This broader understanding of mobility hubs is helping to reshape how the sector views them. They are not simply interchange points or supporting infrastructure. They are increasingly seen as part of a wider integrated mobility offer and as places for people, embedded in the fabric of cities and regions.
A strategic topic for our sector
For public transport, mobility hubs are becoming a strategic topic in their own right. They are essential to improving the daily experience of travellers, regardless of the modes they use, and play an important role in expanding the reach of public transport systems and making multimodal travel more attractive.
As the concept evolves, mobility hubs are also raising broader questions around governance, design, accessibility, safety and long-term investment.
Delivering a high-quality hub is not only about capital investment or physical design. It also requires clear responsibilities, strong stakeholder coordination, and the ability to maintain and adapt the hub over time.
That is why mobility hubs matter not only to operators and authorities, but also to planners, designers, shared mobility providers, local communities and decision-makers. Their success depends on how effectively these different perspectives come together.
A brand-new platform to connect expertise
The new UITP Mobility Hubs Platform has been created to bring that expertise together.
Chaired by Yo Kaminagai, a renowned expert in urban mobility design, the Platform connects several UITP committees and working bodies already addressing mobility hubs from different angles.
These include the Combined Mobility Committee, Design & Culture Committee, Marketing Committee, Regional & Suburban Railways Committee, Parking Transformation Working Group, Shared Vehicles Committee, Transport & Urban Life Committee, the Authorities Committee and UITP experts.
By linking these viewpoints, the Platform will help build a clearer and more consistent understanding of mobility hubs in both strategic and operational terms.
It will also support the exchange of knowledge and best practice across UITP’s membership, while raising awareness of the importance of mobility hubs among the stakeholders who plan, govern, design and operate them.
As mobility hubs continue to evolve, UITP’s new Platform will help ensure that the sector is better connected around a shared objective: improving the daily experience of travellers while advancing integrated, sustainable mobility.
Discover more on UITP’s Mobility Hubs page, bringing together our latest knowledge, data and research on integrated mobility.