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
- SUMC Executive Director Sharon Feigon will open and share SUMC news.
- Kevin O’Malley from the City of Chicago will talk about the scooter and Car2Go pilots.
- John Criezis from Via will talk about the service’s plans in the Windy City.
RSVP today!
MOD Learning Center Feature:Learn how the right regulations can advance mobility for all.
This case study by the Frontier Group in coordination with the Shared-Use Mobility Center shows how smart rules and regulations can position a pilot to be used to its fullest potential—for everyone. See how Seattle used forward-thinking policies around dockless bikesharing to give more residents a sustainable mobility option on the MOD Learning Center.
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August 8, 2019 | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Central)
Chicago Connectory Hear SUMC Executive Director Sharon Feigon & Strategy/Policy Director Ellen Partridge speak at the Connectory’s Connexion Mobility, a full-day event focused on the new mobility world and the cities, communities, technology, and mobility options that are shaping it. Refreshments provided. Register here.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Lyft has a new six-month pilot in Seattle that offers free trips to help the homeless access emergency shelter services.
A new MBTA study on TNCs in Boston estimates that ridehailing has taken away about $20 million each year of fares from the agency. Lyft and Uber have pushed back, saying the report doesn’t look at the whole picture.
Kids-only ridehailing service HopSkipDrive just launched in Phoenix, making it easier for parents to get their kids to after-school activities on busy workdays.
Southeast Asian ridehail giant Grab is setting its sights on the emerging mobility industry in Indonesia with $2 billion through a recent investment from Japan’s Softbank.
Partnerships and Programs
A recently-announced bill Congress, named America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, calls for $287 billion over five years for road and bridge upgrades with $3 billion allotted to “lower highway-related carbon emissions” and another $1 billion for “alternative-fuel infrastructure.” It’s a start.
Check out the list of winners for the 2019 AARP Community Challenge which awarded $1.6 million to 159 quick-action projects from across the country, including ones that covered walkability, bikeability, access to public/private transit, and creating vibrant public spaces.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has big plans to make the city “the most accessible in the nation”, installing up to 100 traffic beeps or vibrations for the visually impaired. But from ramps on streets and sidewalks to working elevators in CTA stations, there is a long, expensive road ahead.
A one-cent regional sales tax is set to join the November 2020 ballot in the Bay Area to fund $100 billion in transportation projects.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
One step forward for multimodal transit in Chicago—the Transit app now supports trip planning and booking with dockless scooter options. They join Divvy, the city’s bikeshare program, public transit, and ride-hailing services.
A plus for shared mobility policy: lawmakers want to change federal laws to allow bikeshare programs to be eligible for federal transit funds with a new proposed bill.
Shared scooters flooded the streets of San Diego just over a year ago with applause and criticisms. Now Bird and Lime are in a tough legal battle with local impounding service ScootScoop, the “Repo Men” of dockless scooters.
What happened to all of the dockless bikes that once blanketed many US cities? Hundreds at least are being donated to nonprofits that help get people cycling.
Transit
Via is working with Fort Worth, TX’ Trinity Metro to offer first/last mile trips to Mercantile Center Station with a new on-demand shuttle service through the Trinity Metro ZIPZONE app.
Transit tech company TransLoc also has a new on-demand shuttle service with Antioch, CA’s Tri Delta Transit offering app-based trips to the Antioch and Pittsburg Bay Point BART Stations through a 6-month pilot.
Take a look through Chicago transit history as Chicago Mag highlights the upbeat cartoons and art of Ferdinand Himmelsbach, the man behind nearly 30 years of illustrations for CTA’s employee magazine.
When the means becomes the end. National Geographic lists ten public transit stations from around the world that feature “striking architecture, historic sites, and surprising views”, making them perfect travel destinations.
Technology
AVs will transform our regions, opening doors for parks not parking lots, and the chance for unheard-of sprawl. One way control their impact is to look at the auto industry’s past makes.
Public and open! Lyft is releasing its data on autonomous technology to the public in a move to accelerate the development of self-driving vehicles, one of the largest public data sets of its kind.
Alphabet’s self-driving arm Waymo and its AI division DeepMind are using a machine-learning technique called population-based training to fine-tune autonomous vehicle algorithms for the best driverless technology.
VIDEO: The future of self-driving might be closer than you think with options already out in the public from the Lyft-Aptiv partnership and Tesla, but some drivers have their doubts. CBS Sunday Morning explores.
Urban Sustainability
Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, and BMW are going to follow California’s own auto emissions standards (smart) in the face of the Trump administration’s plan to roll them back.
Three surprisingly bipartisan bills join recent measures from the House and Senate for a proposed carbon tax in the US to help invest for clean energy initiatives and reduce energy-related carbon pollution.
The Democratic candidates are facing off for a series of debates for the 2020 US election, and Curbed has put together a guide to show where some of them stand on housing, infrastructure, climate change, and transportation.
The US is synonymous with spread-out, car-focused transportation—with a history of 3.6 million deaths since 1899 and escalating pollution problems to show for it. In this light, the New Yorker asks, “Was it all a mistake?”
Requests for Proposals, Qualifications, or Information
RFP: Mobile Fare Payment & Trip Planning
Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority
Tulsa, Oklahoma
August 09, 2019
RFP: Silver Line Transit Oriented Development and Multi-Modal Planning Study
Interurban Transit Partnership – The Rapid
Grand Rapids, Michigan
August 12, 2019
RFI: JTA Integrated Mobility Application
Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Jacksonville, Florida
August 16, 2019
RFP: Assist in the Creation of a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan
Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation
Chattanooga, Tennessee
August 22, 2019, 02:00 PM
E-mail: [email protected]
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