A partnership between Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Imperial College London and Brompton Bike Hire has launched a mobility hub at Imperial’s South Kensington campus.
The hub will feature two Enterprise Car Club vehicles, one electric and the second hydrogen powered, plus 25 Brompton folding bikes, including five electric bikes.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently took delivery of 17 Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric cars.
The launch is part of a four-month academic trial that will assess whether staff travel can be transformed by giving people more choices for sustainable and active transport.
George O’Connor, Enterprise vice president of sales and business development Europe, said: “We recognise that people’s expectations about how they travel are changing and this project will provide valuable information on how people respond when given access to a range of shared assets.
“The data from the trial will not only help Imperial understand how their staff change their travel habits but also provide valuable information for Enterprise as we work with local and national governments and other organisations to develop innovative mobility hub and Mobility as a Service offerings which will make it easier for travellers to switch between shared forms of transport.”
Enterprise Car Club vehicles are also being used as part of a trial to reduce transport emissions in the West Midlands by the University of Warwick.
Surveys will be carried out to identify changes in travel behaviour and attitudes towards the use of shared resources.
The hub is also set to enable academic research to identify how commuting patterns and day-to-day travel can be changed from relying on owning the means of transport to using shared transport.
Professor Mary Ryan, vice-dean for research in the faculty of engineering, said: "The future of urban transport towards net-zero carbon is a critical step in achieving climate goals and delivering a sustainable society.
“The holistic approach taken in this project is central to our Transition to Zero Pollution Strategy, addressing not just the technology enablers, but community uptake, individual behaviour and economic factors.”
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She was the web producer at Fleet News, Commercial Fleet and Smart Transport until April 2023.
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