PORT at Parkex 2026: Turning Urban Real Estate into E-Bike Infrastructure

1. For anyone not familiar with PORT, can you give us the 30-second version of what you do and why it matters?

PORT installs and operates fixed e-bike hubs inside existing urban assets, car parks, mixed-use developments, transport hubs, and turns underutilised space into high-performance cycling infrastructure. Riders swap bikes rather than wait for charging, so hubs are always live. We cover around one million miles per month across our London network, and we're expanding fast. The reason it matters is simple: cities need permanent, reliable cycling infrastructure that works for the people who depend on it every day. PORT builds that, inside the real estate that already exists.

 

2. PORT's model involves installing fixed e-bike hubs within existing urban assets... How does that conversation typically land with asset managers and landlords?

Better than you might expect. Most asset managers immediately understand the logic. They have bays that are underperforming, pressure to demonstrate ESG credentials, and incoming obligations around active travel. What surprises them is how straightforward the commercial structure is. There's no capex, no operational complexity, and a new income stream from space that was previously generating nothing. The conversation usually shifts quickly from "is this relevant to us?" to "which of our sites do we start with?"

 

3. Partners don't carry the capex or the operational burden. What does signing up actually look like in practice?

PORT handles everything, from initial site survey and planning through to installation, maintenance, and day-to-day operations. A partner goes from heads of terms to an operational hub with minimal internal resource required. From day one they have a live piece of active travel infrastructure on their asset, a licence income stream, and full reporting on utilisation. There's no ongoing management burden on the landlord side at all.

 

4. Councils, landlords, and developers are under real pressure to evidence modal shift... How are PORT hubs helping them demonstrate genuine progress?

PORT hubs generate real, measurable usage data, miles travelled, trips made, utilisation rates. That's the kind of evidence that planners and transport officers actually need, not aspirational targets in a local transport plan. Because our infrastructure is permanent and fixed, it creates a consistent baseline of active travel activity that partners can report against over time. We're not a pop-up intervention. We're infrastructure, and that distinction matters when it comes to evidencing genuine modal shift.

 

5. Sustainability targets are one thing, but proving compliance within planning frameworks is a different challenge. How does PORT's infrastructure fit into that picture?

Planning requirements around active travel are becoming more specific, cycle parking standards, mode share conditions, travel plan obligations. PORT hubs can directly address those requirements in a way that a bike rack or a shared scheme can't. Because we operate fixed, managed infrastructure with utilisation data attached, we give developers and asset managers something concrete to point to in a planning context. That's increasingly valuable as local authorities move from encouraging active travel to requiring it.

 

6. PORT's hubs are covering around one million miles per month. What's driving that level of utilisation?

The bike-swap model. Riders never wait for a charge. They arrive, swap to a fully charged bike, and go. That means hubs are always operational and always useful, which drives repeat visits and consistent high utilisation. It also means the infrastructure earns its space. One million miles per month across our network is the result of building something that professional riders can genuinely depend on every single day. It tells you that when you get the infrastructure right, the demand is already there.

 

7. You're actively expanding into the top 10 UK cities. What makes a good site partnership, and why is Parkex the right moment?

The ideal site sits at the intersection of three things: proximity to major inbound and outbound travel infrastructure like railway stations and transport hubs, proximity to the origin points of deliveries, and proximity to the dense urban areas where those deliveries are going. When all three overlap, you have a hub that works hard from day one. Beyond location, the right partner is one who sees active travel as an opportunity rather than an obligation, because those are the partnerships that move fastest and generate the best outcomes for both sides. Parkex is the right moment because the audience here, parking operators, landlords, local authorities, real estate managers, are exactly the people who control the sites we want to be in. The conversations we have this week could be operational hubs by the end of the year.

 

8. PORT has founded the Urban Microhub Alliance. What gap does it fill, and who needs to be in the room?

The UMA exists because urban microhub infrastructure, fixed, permanent cycling and logistics hubs inside urban assets, doesn't yet have a coherent policy, planning, or regulatory framework around it. Individual operators are navigating that in isolation, which slows everything down. The UMA brings together operators, landlords, local authorities, and policymakers to build that framework collectively. The people who need to be in the room are the ones who own the assets, the ones who set the planning rules, and the ones who commission last mile logistics, because change only happens when all three are aligned.

 

9. What are the two or three things the UMA most needs to get right?

First, a consistent planning definition for microhub infrastructure, so that operators and developers know what they're building towards and local authorities know what to approve. Second, a standardised approach to utilisation and impact reporting, so that the sector can speak with one voice on what microhubs actually deliver. Third, engagement with central government on the role of fixed microhub infrastructure in the UK's broader active travel and logistics strategy. Get those three right and the rest follows.

 

10. Through the UMA, PORT is positioning fixed microhub infrastructure as a serious alternative to vans for last mile parcel delivery. How realistic is that shift at scale?

It's not a distant ambition. It's already happening. The economics of last mile van delivery in dense urban areas are deteriorating fast: clean air zones, rising fuel and insurance costs, congestion, and tightening kerbside access. E-bike delivery from fixed hubs is faster, cheaper, and cleaner for the final mile in those environments. The barrier has never been demand. The major delivery platforms are already operating at significant scale on e-bikes. The barrier has been reliable, permanent infrastructure. That's exactly what PORT and the UMA are building, and the momentum is real.

 

11. If someone's walking past your stand at Parkex with a car park, a development site, or a logistics problem, what's the one thing you want them to leave knowing?

That their real estate can be part of the solution. Whether it's a council car park, a mixed-use development, or a logistics hub, PORT can turn underutilised space into active travel infrastructure that generates income, evidences sustainability commitments, and serves the city. Come and talk to us.

What to know more? 

Visit PORT live on stand P11 at Parkex  and click to read more about PORT and the Urban Microhub Alliance