Upcoming webinar: Smart Columbus Program: Smart Mobility Hubs Test Results and Go-Live

Through the USDOT’s Smart City Challenge, in 2016, the Department selected Columbus, Ohio, to define what it means to be a “smart city” and serve as a model for other cities wishing to fully integrate innovative technologies–such as automated vehicles, connected vehicles, and applications–into the transportation network. The goal of the Smart Columbus program is to connect people by creating opportunity for city residents to better access jobs and services while improving the overall safety and efficiency of the city’s transportation network. The Smart Columbus program is comprised of nine individual projects covering three themes–enabling technologies, emerging technologies, and enhanced human services.

The Smart Columbus Smart Mobility Hubs (SMH) project is one of eight projects in the Smart Columbus program and is designed to foster a community of connections and accessibility with increased mobility options and free, easy to use trip planning tools. The SMH is committed to delivering solutions that help close the First Mile/Last Mile (FMLM) gap and is considered the future of consolidated transportation centers. The project is scoped to deploy a number of transportation amenities at six different facilities.

The transportation amenities at the facilities work together to deliver mobility as a service (MaaS). MaaS provides travelers with new and consolidated transportation options to move about the region using various modes, with a focus on empowering residents through information and technology, providing waiting areas with real-time transit information, microtransit connections for pedestrians, seamless transfer between modes, and local information on various points of interest to encourage city exploration.