Quantifying carbon reductions from mode substitution through shared electric mobility hubs in Greater Manchester

Haoyu Wang; Margaret C. Bell; Jingxin Dong; Matthew Burke; Huseyin Ayan; Dilum Dissanayake

doi:10.1038/s41598-025-22719-3

Quantifying carbon reductions from mode substitution through shared electric mobility hubs in Greater Manchester

Haoyu Wang
, Margaret C. Bell
, Jingxin Dong
, Matthew Burke
, Huseyin Ayan
, Dilum Dissanayake

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study investigates the attitudes of 1139 participants towards eHUBS usage and daily travel patterns to assess the effectiveness of shared electric mobility hubs (eHUBS) in Greater Manchester. It explores the potential of eHUBS to replace conventional travel modes, including motor vehicles, public transport, and zero-carbon alternatives such as walking and cycling, while examining their integration with public transport and the associated carbon reduction benefits. Analysis indicates a consistent substitution rate of 30% to 35%, suggesting that eHUBS could increase public transport usage by 8% to 13% and reduce overall carbon emissions by 15% to 18% for journeys exceeding 5 km. The findings reveal that eHUBS, particularly e-bikes and e-cargo bikes, can enhance public transport utilisation for short-distance trips, while electric cars reduce reliance on motor vehicles for longer journeys. Although substituting walking and cycling with eHUBS marginally raises emissions for shorter trips, this impact is minimal compared to the overall reduction achieved. This study underscores the significant role of eHUBS in supporting modal shifts and emissions reduction, contributing to more sustainable urban mobility.

Original language	English
Article number	38815
Number of pages	24
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	15
Early online date	5 Nov 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22719-3
Publication status	Published - 5 Nov 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keywords

Shared electric mobility
eHUBS
Mode substitution
Carbon emissions
Net-zero emissions

Access to Document

10.1038/s41598-025-22719-3Licence: CC BY 4.0

H Wang et al_Quantifying carbon reductions from mode substitution through shared electric mobility hubs in Greater Manchester
Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 5.86 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

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abstract = "This study investigates the attitudes of 1139 participants towards eHUBS usage and daily travel patterns to assess the effectiveness of shared electric mobility hubs (eHUBS) in Greater Manchester. It explores the potential of eHUBS to replace conventional travel modes, including motor vehicles, public transport, and zero-carbon alternatives such as walking and cycling, while examining their integration with public transport and the associated carbon reduction benefits. Analysis indicates a consistent substitution rate of 30\% to 35\%, suggesting that eHUBS could increase public transport usage by 8\% to 13\% and reduce overall carbon emissions by 15\% to 18\% for journeys exceeding 5 km. The findings reveal that eHUBS, particularly e-bikes and e-cargo bikes, can enhance public transport utilisation for short-distance trips, while electric cars reduce reliance on motor vehicles for longer journeys. Although substituting walking and cycling with eHUBS marginally raises emissions for shorter trips, this impact is minimal compared to the overall reduction achieved. This study underscores the significant role of eHUBS in supporting modal shifts and emissions reduction, contributing to more sustainable urban mobility.",

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AU - Dissanayake, Dilum

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Quantifying carbon reductions from mode substitution through shared electric mobility hubs in Greater Manchester

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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