Local authorities face significant challenges when delivering mobility hubs. There is the challenge of identifying a suitable location for a mobility hub, but the authority must also identify the services needed and their viability, existing and potential gaps in the transport offer, non-mobility components and their demand, and long-term management plans (Beard, 2022). This is a resource-intensive process, estimated to take between 1-2 years to implement if resources are available (CoMoUK, 2020, p. 19).
Currently, public transport in the UK is heavily reliant on subsidised public funding (Rongen, et al., 2023, p. 7). However, with the partnerships and contracts in the multi-interest mobility hub, new approaches to funding and procurement are needed to ensure market competitiveness for the consumer and suitable management and maintenance of the hub. Funding can be generated from a range of sources such as operational revenue, franchise payments, advertising, developer contributions, and grants (CoMoUK, 2021, p. 7). However, optimising the hubs for the consumer can ensure the financial sustainability of a sensitive business model long-term, by embedding the hubs into the community, ensuring efficient layouts for seamless interchanges, stakeholder engagement to understand in-demand components, and monitoring to adapt the operations (CoMoUK, 2021, p. 7).
A range of delivery models already exist and have been highlighted in guidance by CoMoUK, identifying who manages and maintains the space and who operates services. It is important for local authorities to select a universal model that can be applied across a network. This allows for more seamless operations, compared to individual models between hubs, as well as supporting viability. Additionally, this provides greater certainty for private developers who can establish the mobility hub infrastructure to feed into a network but cannot operate the services. CoMoUK provides guidance on delivery models on their website: https://www.como.org.uk/mobility-hubs/starting-and-running-successful-hubs