Dublin City Council has launched a Smart Mobility Hub (SMH) at its city centre offices at Wood Quay, Dublin 8.
The pilot project is part of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) challenge in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and Smart Dublin and is integrating a fleet of e-cars, bikes and e-bikes through mobile apps aiming to improve the options for staff who need to go off-site for work purposes during the day.
Two innovative solutions being piloted
Two innovative solutions are being piloted with Enterprise Holdings, University College Dublin, BleeperBike and Good Travel Software.
Owen Keegan, chief executive, Dublin City Council, said: “We are delighted to launch the Smart Mobility Hub in partnership with Enterprise Ireland – these pilot projects with Enterprise Holdings, Good Travel Software, University College Dublin and Bleeperbike are part of a Small Business Innovation Research programme.
"The Mobility Hub will allow our City Council employees to access a shared pool of e-bikes, e-cars and push-bikes from across DCC offices using apps to carry out off-site visits/surveys.
“We want to lead by example to deploy smart and innovative new solutions that will reduce emissions and deliver a cleaner city environment for all.”
This pilot scheme, if successful, will scale up and be deployed across the city council offices meaning fewer cars on the road at rush-hour means less congestion and an improvement in air quality.
Zero-exhaust-pipe-emissions
From an environmental point of view, all vehicles in the hub will have zero-exhaust-pipe-emissions, which is great in terms of both air quality and general climate change. Finally, the Hub is encouraging staff to try e-cars and e-bikes and accelerate adoption of these cleaner transport options.
Tom Kelly, head of innovation, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to partner with Dublin City Council and Smart Dublin to harness the best innovative solutions and lead the way in developing Ireland’s first Smart Mobility Hub.
"The SBIR programme is unique in enabling public sector bodies and innovative SMEs the opportunity to work together and develop creative and innovative solutions for real societal problems.”