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
If you’re in the Chicago area, join the Shared-Use Mobility Center and other local/regional partners TODAY until 8 p.m. in Bedford Park, IL to help build momentum for first/last mile mobility solutions in industrial areas. Learn more and register here.
Featured MOD Learning Center Case Study
Dockless bikeshare adds a level of convenience and efficiency for how we get around a city, but can also spark complaints about clutter and improper use. This Learning Center case study discusses Seattle’s bikeshare program and permit process, including initial requirements, the program history and goals, outcomes (more bikes!) and lessons learned from the pilot. As a whole, the name of the game is balance.
The new Shared Mobility landscape needs people like you to help build it. Starting this week, you’ll find RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs right below the week’s headlines. If you are interested in posting one for your agency or organization, please contact [email protected].
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
After an initial pilot, ridehailing company Via’s partnership with the DC Department of Public Works will expand to help public employees get more on-demand rides.
GM’s app-based carsharing arm Maven is ending service in eight North American cities. Sources cite lackluster demand, performance problems, and a competitive market.
In a move to take on behemoth Uber, French ridehailing company Kapten, formerly Chauffeur Privé, will be launching in the British capital, hoping “to have 1.5 million users in London in two years’ time.”
EV startup Xpeng Motors, seen as the Tesla of China and backed by Alibaba and Foxconn, is starting an EV ridehailing service in the Chinese megacity Guangzhou.
Partnerships and Programs
NACTO will be helping Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia boost their bike and transit infrastructure to get people away from solo driving, and to meet climate goals.
Members of Congress are reintroducing the Smart Cities and Communities Act to allow cities to “invest in clean infrastructure projects that reduce pollution, create good-paying jobs, and expand our middle class.” Sounds good.
California is getting a $250 million bump in grant funding, thanks to separate awards from Caltrans and California Transportation Commission, to benefit communities and cities who want to reduce climate change with sustainable transportation projects and programs.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Olso has one of the most successful bikeshare systems in the world, even beating other rival Scandinavian cities. Mobility platform Urban Sharing looks at the data behind its unique and highly-used program.
Germany will allow the use of dockless e-scooters in the country, making it one of the largest EU countries to let the micromobility option on its streets.
Honolulu’s Biki bikeshare is the sixth-most used system in the US and officials want to expand it to more parts of the city.
Ford GoBike and the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program have recently launched an adaptive bikeshare program in Oakland, CA for people with disabilities. Roll on.
Transit
The US Federal Railroad Administration canceled funding for California’s high-speed rail project, to the tune of $929 million, after Governor Gavin Newsom announced a project scale-back citing cost hikes and delays.
New York transit has, by all accounts, been rough for riders over the past couple years. According to the NY Times, people who rely on the MTA’s Access-A-Ride service (seniors and the disabled) have it even worse.
Orange County, FL Mayor Jerry Demings didn’t forget shared mobility in his state-of-the-county speech saying, “If our goal is to empower every resident and citizen, we will need to provide multiple options for transit including more buses, more routes, more trains, and a robust network that supports pedestrians and bicyclists”.
Las Vegas has a new on-demand shuttle service called, ahem, ‘Trip to Strip’ courtesy of a new pilot from the Regional Transportation Commission.
Technology
Ride TriMet, C-TRAN, and Portland Streetcar all through…Apple. TriMet’s Hop Fastpass has become the first transit fare card in North America to launch in Apple Wallet.
Stockholm has a new MaaS pilot project, UbiGo, that aims to bring public transit, bikeshare, carpooling, carsharing, taxis, and ridehailing together to help Swedish residents become more multimodal.
Over in Kentucky, Louisville’s Transit Authority of River City has a new MaaS app that merges trip planning and booking for Uber, Lyft, Bird Scooters, and LouVelo Bike Share.
There’s the dream of autonomous vehicles popularized by Silicon Valley and Detroit Automakers, then there’s the reality, which the Ringer thinks may also be a mirage.
Urban Sustainability
“They lost nothing. I lost everything”. The New York Times unravels the downfall of the taxi industry in New York and how its predatory beginnings have devastated immigrant families in the region.
European insurance company Coya has released the 2019 Global Bicycle Cities Index ranking 90 cities on bike usage, investments and infrastructure, bikeshare, accidents, and more. See if your city made the cut.
43 cities worldwide made the CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, “A List”—including six winners of Bloomberg’s American Cities Climate Challenge. Find out who they are, and more importantly, what they did for environmental sustainability.
Job access is crucial, but it is only part of the story when it comes to equal opportunity employment. This podcast from the Overhead Wire talks about how we can help get disadvantaged communities and employers ready for the new economy by developing talent and breaking down barriers in the workplace. Listen here.
NEW: Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
Sustainable Transportation and Land Use Study
City of Glendale
Glendale, CA
Deadline: Thursday, May 30, 2019
The City of Glendale is seeking a well-qualified firm to assist in the West Glendale Sustainable Transportation and Land Use Study. The work will seek to improve multi-modal safety and encourage supporting land uses that reduce vehicle miles traveled.
Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update
Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization, Shelby County Government
Memphis, TN
Deadline: Friday, May 31, 2019
The Division of Planning and Development, Memphis MPO is seeking proposals to develop and update the Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.
Appalachian Council of Governments (ACOG)
Greenville, SC
Deadline: Monday, June 3, 2019
We are soliciting proposals from qualified consultants to provide professional services in the development of an Appalachian Regional Freight Mobility Plan for the Appalachian Region of South Carolina, which includes the cities of Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson.
Mobility as a Service Phase I (Microtransit and Mobile Ticketing)
Chattanooga, TN
Deadline: June 26, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
Reply to: Annie Powell, CARTA, 1617 Wilcox Blvd., Chattanooga, TN 37406 Telephone 423-629-1411, Facsimile 423-698-2749, email [email protected]
Proposers must respond to CARTA’s RFP, which will be mailed by request. See CARTA’s RFP for additional requirements. No proposer will be discriminated against because of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, or disability.
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