Are Mobility Hubs Child-Friendly?

“The ‘mobility hub’ — or a central location where travelers can connect with multiple shared modes — is a buzzy transportation planning concept that's been inspiring articles and studies for years,” writes Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA.

But do these trendy sites effectively serve women and caregivers? According to a Swedish and American research team, there is no concrete evidence of how these spaces support these groups, and workshops and surveys with women who use transit hubs revealed “a universe of invisible needs” that go largely unaddressed.

It is common knowledge that women tend to make shorter and more frequent “chained” trips; “They also perform a raft of invisible labors that aren't reflected on typical travel surveys, which tend to focus on destinations, distances, and time spent in transit, rather than the underlying reasons why people move — and the largely uncompensated work they need to perform along the way.”

The researchers found that women surveyed would benefit from services at mobility hubs such as playgrounds next to bus stops to occupy children or free WiFi so they can communicate or attend to errands while waiting for a bus or train. “If designers think creatively, mobility hubs can help alleviate the burden of other forms of unseen labor, too, like helping caregivers perform the ‘labor of hosting’ by popping up a holiday market stall on the sidewalk right next to the bikeshare stand, saving them a lengthy trip to buy gifts.”