Welcome to the Shared-Use Mobility Center’s weekly guide to the most impactful news, thought-provoking articles and innovative technologies that are shaping our transportation future. We believe in sharing information, just like sharing cars, bikes, and scooters, so if there’s anything additional you’d like to see, just drop us a line.
SUMC News and Announcements
Our Commitment to Racial Justice
From our organization’s start, the mission of the Shared-Use Mobility Center has been to support mobility for all. That is not possible to achieve without racial justice. In this weekly newsletter and other communications, we have focused on elements of a multimodal transportation network without explicitly highlighting the fundamental connection between transportation and social justice. Starting with this issue, we are calling out new and ongoing projects that challenge systemic racism and promote mobility justice under the heading, Mobility Justice. This is but a small part of our renewed commitment.
The efforts of protesters on the streets have shown how action can make a difference and build on the work of social justice activists. We realize that as an organization we need to renew our efforts because black lives matter; because climate change is here and it disproportionately affects communities of color; because America was built on the backs of slave labor and we have yet to meaningfully make amends. The stories we highlight will be part of a multi-pronged effort to use our position to help uproot an unjust system and support the creation of equitable transportation and human landscapes. Join us.
A Bikeshare Victory
Last week we commented on the truckloads of JUMP bikes captured in a Durham, NC recycling plant. We’re happy to announce that as a result of YOUR efforts in contacting Uber, the company told us that the 5,800 remaining bikes will be saved and donated to nonprofits, who will then make them available. We did it. Let’s do more.
New on the MOD Learning Center
Village of Bedford Park Last-Mile Mobility Plan
Getting to work is a challenge for the nearly 30,000 commuters to the Village of Bedford Park. With rail and transit leaving gaps, a shared mobility solution was desperately needed. Beginning in 2018 and using funds from a Cook County grant, the Shared-Use Mobility Center, the Antero Group, and the Active Transportation Alliance conducted multi-faceted research, engaged the community, and issued a 4-part action plan, which the Village is now in the process of implementing.
We’d also like to highlight a few resources, previously published, that can help us create a more just transportation landscape. More to come!
Improving the equity of bikeshare programs
Public-private partnerships to meet equity goals
Mobility Justice
History has shown that decades of redlining in lower-income Black and Brown neighborhoods has led to major disparities in economic development, healthcare, and transportation. This has left a legacy of harm that continues to this day, with few improvements in access to healthcare, jobs, and resources. This can change, and it must.
Fighting structural racism includes acknowledging the inequality that Black Americans face in our economic and health systems on a day-to-day basis, which becomes even more apparent—and devastating—during a pandemic.
“Back in 2013, the League of American Bicyclists reported that “the fastest growth in bicycling is among the Hispanic, African American, and Asian American populations. Yet these groups may find cycling to work more problematic.” Read more about the ‘invisible cyclists’ and how mobility planning can better realign to serve Black communities.
Hear from Warren Logan, Oakland’s Policy Director of Mobility and Interagency Relations for the Mayor’s Office, on how goals can be planned towards addressing and building for racial equity within a mobility framework, on Streetsblog.
“No streets are safe until they are safe for all”. Greater Greater Washington writes about the privilege of safe streets that do not fully extend to Black Americans.
“How can people of color effectively lead their communities on climate solutions when faced with pervasive and life-shortening racism?” – Climate Scientist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on fighting racism to fight climate change on The Washington Post.
BikePortland shares some thoughts and strategies for more equitable transportation activism that communities can use to fight racism in open streets and public space discussions.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Lyft is reporting an increase in rides by 26% in May, compared to April, since cities have started reopening measures but total ridership is still down 70% year over year.
The BlueIndy EV carshare service shut down in Indianapolis last year because of financial struggles and trouble with low usership. Now, the cars seem to be headed for the scrapyard as the city decides the future of the charging station network left behind.
New Egyptian ridehailing service Dubci launched its app in the country in partnership with Move It, another local service, positioning itself as the cheapest ridehailing option around.
Partnerships and Programs
Possibly, maybe some good news: a new ~$500 billion bill from the US House Transportation Committee aims to rebuild the nation’s decaying infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on public transportation, rail funding, and new GHG emissions standards.
Southeast Asian ridehailing company Grab is partnering with the Philippines Department of Agriculture to provide on-demand delivery for local and ethically-sourced produce around Manila.
The US and UK might soon see more sustainable first/last-mile mobility options, such as more comprehensive bikeshare networks, as part of a new initiative between Mobility company Ride On and strategic advisory group Enzen.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Chicago must wait a bit longer before scratching its dockless scooter itch as the second-round pilot for scooters is delayed until operators are seen as financially viable during the ongoing pandemic, according to the city DOT Commissioner Gia Biagi.
Hear stories from first-time cyclists, essential workers, and seasoned riders as they share their experiences with bikeshare and two-wheeled mobility in different parts of the US as part of National Bike Month.
BMW and Daimler ridehailing joint venture FREE NOW is collaborating with micromobility startup Voi to offer dockless scooter integration in the FREE NOW app in Hamburg, with Berlin and Munich services coming soon.
Transit
The Federal Transit Administration has announced $891 million in allocated funding to 12 transit infrastructure projects through the Capital Investment Grants Program to help increase access to jobs and critical services through public transportation.
Check out Politico’s roundup of transportation news and stories from around the US on how transit systems are dealing with both protests and the pandemic.
Recent Cities Today Institute roundtables touched on the importance of modal shift to active transportation options, and giving them more space to safely operate, during a time when public transit refocuses operations to adhere to social distancing measures.
Technology
COVID-19 has caused a massive shift in how people move around in cities and communities. Read about a few ways the ongoing pandemic crisis has affected EU and US mobility tech on The Next Web.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Florida State College at Jacksonville will be expanding the Authority’s autonomous vehicle program on the university’s campus, which includes an expansion of the Ultimate Urban Circulator Test & Learn Program.
The FABULOS project, a partnership between six cities in the EU to accelerate autonomous vehicle development in the region, will bring self-driving shuttle pilots to Estonia, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Sustainability
A win for environmentalism! New Jersey has become the first state in the US to incorporate climate change subjects in the K-12 curriculum, starting in September 2021.
Costa Rica’s congested capital, San Jose, is starkly different from the ecological wonders of its beaches and waterfalls. A plan to become carbon zero by 2050 attempts to fix that, literally, from the ground up.
Don’t drive through my dining room! Plantizen documents the current (and hopefully lasting) trend of ‘al fresco streets.’
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
RFP: Request for Proposals for Paratransit Services
Green Mountain Transit Authority
St. Albans, VT
Deadline: June 17, 2020
Email Matt Kimball for RFP at [email protected]
RFI: Transit Technology Assistance
Oregon Department of Transportation
Salem, OR
Deadline: July 1, 2020
RFP: Paratransit and Flex Route Services
City of DeKalb
DeKalb, IA
Deadline: July 16, 2020
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