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.
Announcements
2020 National Shared Mobility Summit
March 17-19, 2020
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
Mobility for all is coming. Learn more.
Mark your calendars for the Fall SUMC Open House!
November 7 | 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm CDT | Chicago Connectory
Enjoy insightful speakers and presentations about pressing topics, as well as networking with friends and associates. Appetizers and beverages will be provided. More details will follow in the coming weeks.
Join Brian Holland, Program Director at SUMC’s California office, at VERGE 19 (Oct. 22-24, Oakland, CA) where he will be moderating a micromobility workshop with leaders including Nick Foley of Uber, Melinda Hanson of Bird, and Ryan Russo from the City of Oakland.
Use code V19SHAU for 10% off registration.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Car2go is shutting down it’s free-floating carshare service in five major North American cities, including Chicago, Denver, and Austin, as the company restructures resources and focuses on more successful key markets.
Carpooling tech giant BlaBlaCar has acquired Eastern European bus ticketing platform Busfor, hoping to build out its bus offerings and integrations around the EU for intercity travel.
Via is partnering with Northwestern to give students free on-demand rides at night for better access to safe transportation as part of the university’s Safe Ride program.
Check out The Verge’s interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on why the company is shifting its focus to being, “the one app that can do it all.” No response yet from existing mobility integration apps.
Partnerships and Programs
Lawmakers in New York want the MTA to use zoning resources and incentives for private developers to expand accessibility options at light rail stations for a more ADA-friendly transit system.
Dockless mobility company Spin has a new program to help nonprofits kickstart community and street infrastructure projects—and they’re partnering with transportation analytics platform StreetLight Data and mobility data startup Populus to do it.
The FTA has awarded $75 million to Arizona’s Valley Metro to build out the Tempe Streetcar project that will span three miles, include 14 stations, and connect to light rail in Phoenix, Mesa and Sky Harbor.
Atlanta will be getting its first on-demand microtransit service, featuring 12-passenger Sprinter vans in the Buckhead neighborhood as part of a new program with Via for better first/last mile connections to MARTA stations.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
DC’s District DOT wants to boost dockless bikeshare and scooter-share offerings in the city, while limiting the number of companies that operate to four.
Lyft has redesigned its app to make bikeshare, dockless scooters, and transit a big focus as we see ridehail companies move deeper into full mobility-as-a-service integration.
German bikeshare operator nextbike launched a highschool bikeshare program at three schools in Stirling, Scotland, a first-of-its-kind program for teen-focused shared mobility in the UK.
Spin is the first mobility company in DC to bring docks, called “Spin Hubs”, to its dockless scooters, hoping to make charging easier and keep sidewalk clutter to a minimum.
Transit
The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority has released details of 76 projects, categorized by comparing cost to community impact, that cover a 12-county area as part of its regional transit plan.
Transit advocates and organizations are urging Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to work together to make Metra Electric fares in Chicago meet CTA prices within the city’s South Side to create better public transportation access.
Better commuter transit could fix so many woes and ridership declines in many US cities. You can look to Toronto and the Bay Area for how a few improvements go a long way in suburban rail and bus.
AUDIO: Hear the first episode of Wheel Talk, a podcast that focuses on the inner workings of Caltrain, SamTrans, and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, featuring Caltrain’s Deputy Director of Rail Infrastructure Rob Scarpino.
Technology
Jelbi is Berlin BVG transport authority’s answer to the bursting MaaS scene that has swept across Europe in the last few years. Read how the recently-launched app wants to corral all the dockless scooters and transit options into one simple platform and hear what Michel Heider, Head of Jelbi, has to say about successful service integration and public-private mobility partnerships on the Intelligent Transport Podcast.
The University of Lund and Sweden’s transport ministry are working with electric charging infrastructure company Elonroad and bus company Solaris to test wireless, on-route EV charging that will create the tech needed for continuous energy while minimizing service disruption and the need for larger batteries.
Western Michigan University will have its own autonomous shuttle pilot on campus thanks to a collaboration with the University of Michigan, Comet Mobility, and Easterseals.
Urban Sustainability
Houston is wrestling with two transportation plans that focus on opposing goals: build out public transit or expand four interstate highways. Only one of the plans would make congestion, pollution, urban sprawl, car dependence, and traffic fatalities much worse (hint: it’s not the transit plan).
Editor and Executive Director of Streetsblog Denver Andy Bosselman wants Colorado representatives and politicians to fight against our climate crisis and stop supporting highway widening. All states should take note, actually.
Governing wants us to know that just because cities are marketing safe cycling to women in places like New York, doesn’t mean the cycling infrastructure is actually safe. A little catch-up is in order so everyone can feel good on two wheels.
Check out CityLab’s count of the best US cities where you can easily ditch the car for transit, biking, and walking (and other locales where it would be much harder to go car-free).
Requests for Proposals, Qualifications, and Information
RFP: 2021 Transportation Alternatives Program
Kansas Department of Transportation
Kansas
Deadline: November 1, 2019
Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning
Federal Transit Administration
Washington DC
Deadline: November 18, 2019
RFI: Implementation of Bus Rapid Transit on MD 355
Montgomery County Department of Transportation
Bethesda to Clarksburg, Maryland
Deadline: November 22, 2019
Spin’s Mobility Data for Safer Streets
Spin, StreetLight Data, Populus
Application Deadline: December 31 2019
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