The city of Padua in Italy aims to strategically redesign the urban mobility and logistics network as part of the new sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP). Several strategies and business models – running on IT platforms and apps – will be assessed and deployed in this framework. This paper focuses on the current development and deployment of NEXT - a mixed freight/passenger transport system (so-called cargo hitching) of autonomous electric pods - in the urban area of Padua. Cargo hitching allows the integration of freight and passenger transport systems, thus, improving the operational, socio-economic and environmental performance of the urban mobility systems. The pods are capable to join and detaching while running. Its modularity and flexibility are relevant features leading to resources optimization. This paper presents the SPROUT Project (H2020- GA 814910) approach to define a city-led (co-created) policy response to harness the impacts of this new urban mobility solution in Padua. It includes the methodological approach adopted for the ongoing implementation in Padua and discusses the main cutting-edge features of the NEXT systems and related technologies.
