Dublin launches Smart Mobility Hub

Staff at the City Council will be given access to shared e-vehicles

Dublin City Council is getting smarter using shared vehicles. Earlier this week the Irish capital launched the Smart Mobility Hub (SMH) at their centre office at Wood Quay, Dublin 8. The project is a pilot and is implemented as part of a small business innovation research challenge. Together with Enterprise Ireland and Smart Dublin, SMH connects e-cars, bikes and e-bikes with zero-exhaust-pipe-emissions allowing staffer who need to travel out of site during office hours to access them using a mobile app. The project was made possible thanks to Enterprise Holdings, University College Dublin, BleeperBike and Good Travel Software and will give City Council staff access to a shared pool of e-bikes, e-cars and push-bikes from across the Council’s offices.

At the launch, Owen Keegan, Chief Executive of DCC, stated that the local authority wanted to be a good example of the deployment of smart and innovative solutions which reduce emissions and deliver a cleaner city environment. Should the pilot be successful, scaling up will be possible for all offices of the Council city-wide. Naturally, this could have noticeable positive effects on the quality of air and traffic by reducing the number of cars on the road at rush hours.

Finally, Tom Kelly, Head of Innovation, Enterprise Ireland confirms that the SBIR programme has no precedent in that it enables public sector bodies and innovative SMEs to work together and develop creative solutions to real societal challenges.