Sweden's First Mobility ‘Hotel’ Opens

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04 June 2024

A mobility “hotel” in Nordstan, one of Sweden’s largest shopping and business centres, is facilitating the quiet and emission-free transport of goods and people in the inner city. 

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The new micro-mobility scheme offers reloading for last-mile delivery of goods via bicycle and light electric vehicles in central Gothenburg. It also provides bikes, e-bikes and electric scooters, mopeds and cargo bikes for businesses who want to switch from vans to smaller, more flexible vehicles, and anyone who wants to cycle or use light e-vehicles.

"The unique thing about the Mobility Hotel is the high level of innovation. In addition to combining personal mobility and micro-logistics in the same place, we now give craftsmen and service companies good opportunities to use micro-mobility and bicycles to perform their services. We also build bridges between mobility companies, the city, retail and the real estate industry," said Anastazia Kronberg, Process Manager at Business Region Gothenburg.

"I am convinced that new roles, value chains and business models will emerge here. This is exactly what we need to see for the green transition to accelerate.”

The project is part of the Swedish city of Gothenburg’s pledge to reduce motorised traffic by 25 per cent by 2030. The city also introduced a congestion charge in 2013 to give drivers a financial incentive to find alternative transport. Car traffic decreased by approximately 15- 20 per cent soon after.

The Mobility Hotel in Nordstan is co-financed through the EU project MOVE21,  an innovation project that aims to transform European cities into smart nodes for efficient mobility and logistics.

What is Micro-Mobility?

Society’s demand for deliverable goods and services is taking a toll on our cities. For freight operators, the “last mile challenge”, the part of the journey that brings the service or product directly to a customer’s door, is the most costly and complex. This is where micro-mobility comes in.

Micro-mobility is increasingly seen as the greenest way to transport goods around our cities. This involves city-based logistics hubs that help companies consolidate deliveries and allow delivery drivers to use bicycles and light electric vehicles for the final part of their journeys.

According to a report from WSP, commissioned by Uber, micro-logistics hubs in London could reduce traffic volumes by 13 per cent and reduce harmful vehicle-related air emissions by 17 per cent by 2025.

Picture: a photograph of a person on an e-scooter handing a cardboard box to another person on the roadside. Image Credit: Business Region Göteborg AB

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 04 June 2024

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