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
ALMOST SOLD OUT—HURRY!
National Shared Mobility Summit
March 17 – 19, 2020 | Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago
DIVE INTO THE 2020 SUMMIT PROGRAM
PLENARY PANEL SPOTLIGHT:
The Future of Multimodal Systems
Maturation or destruction? Walled gardens or open ecosystems? On the morning of Thursday, March 19th, we’ll focus on the different strategies and issues as companies mature and evolve into multimodal services concurrently with the evolution of transit agencies into mobility providers—and what this means for working together. Join us as leaders from the public and private sectors discuss different approaches and how they can be successful to ensure the public good.
Featuring:
- Moderator: Emily Castor Warren, Principal and Director of Policy, Nelson\Nygaard
- Gary Thomas, President/Executive Director, DART
- Shin-Pei Tsay, Director of Policy, Cities, and Transportation, Uber
- Lilly Shoup, Senior Director of Policies and Partnerships, Lyft
- Benjamin de la Peña, Former Chief of Strategy and Innovation, Seattle DOT
- Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Executive Director, Open Mobility Foundation
To learn more about these issues, read:
How open or closed mobility may affect Mobility as a Service
A case involving Lyft, Citi Bike, and New York City
A CityLab article on how the Los Angeles DOT (headed by Wednesday plenary panelist Seleta Reynolds) has been leveraging access to their city streets in order to push companies into following the Mobility Data Specification, an open-source data standard developed and maintained by Thursday plenary panelist Jascha Franklin-Hodge’s Open Mobility Foundation
View all speakers and panelists.
Summit speakers featured on The Movement Podcast
In Episode 54, Moderator Maria Zimmerman shares what communities are doing to maximize the public benefit from underused public lands. In Episode 55, Plenary Panelist Veronica Vanterpool challenges us to rethink what is commonly called, “innovation”.
This is just a taste of what’s in store. Save your spot at the 2020 Summit—hurry, time is running out.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
A new study out of the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that ridehail trips “result in an estimated 69 percent more climate pollution on average than the trips they displace”. Mobility companies need to focus on more electrification AND shared rides combined, while promoting clean transportation alternatives to really tackle emissions.
Renault is launching a free-floating, all-EV carsharing service in Paris with 500 Renault ZOE, as part of a new partnership with Spanish transport infrastructure company Ferrovial.
AAA will be expanding its GiG carshare service to Seattle with 250 free-floating Toyota Priuses by May. This comes just months after the exit of several big-name carshare companies from the region.
Singapore-based ridehail company Grab has raised a total of $856 million thanks to new funding from Japanese investors, including Mitsubishi Financial Group.
Partnerships and Programs
Getting around in Cincinnati is always a challege, especially for those with disabilities and limited mobility. As the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 30 this year, how can officials and companies make sure taxi rides are accessible for people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices?
A new partnership between City Tech Collaborative, Bosch, and HERE Technologies will analyze street data to help better manage curb space for different types of mobility and traffic congestion.
PlanetM has announced its fourth round of grants to mobility and technology companies, covering solutions from EV solar-charging systems to an on-demand parking app and a platform for smart ridehail pick/dropoff management.
A new order from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has created the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to ensure that the state stays ahead in new mobility technology and innovation, including autonomous vehicle and EV development.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Micromobility company Spin has deployed its dedicated charging and parking hubs, developed by mobility tech startup Swiftmile, for shared scooters in Phoenix to clean up sidewalk clutter and address accessibility issues for the right of way.
Check out Better Bike Share’s mini-round up of cycling- and transit-focused initiatives and programs that celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth.
It looks like DC’s Capital Bikeshare is bringing back pedal-assist e-bikes with plans to introduce 1,500 to its fleet this spring.
Montréal is giving up on dockless scooters and banning them from city streets due to unsafe riding and improperly parked vehicles, but critics point out there was a lack of designated parking areas in the city during the pilot phase.
Transit
Starting March 1, all public transit services will be free to use in Luxembourg, making it the first country in the world with fare-free shared mobility!
Vancouver’s TransLink wants to electrify half its bus fleet by 2030 and run a completely EV fleet by 2050, but finding the right financing to do it might be difficult.
#ElectionDay is coming up in LA so the city’s Metro agency is making public transit free March 3 through midnight March 4, with the agency’s HQ One Gateway Plaza and the El Monte bus station doubling as voting centers.
The CTA is beefing up its bus rapid transit initiatives in Chicago with all-door boarding pilots for two of its routes. Faster bus loading is always welcome.
Technology
Self-driving tech company Cruise has a new permit to transport passengers with its autonomous vehicles in California, thanks to the state’s Public Utilities Commission.
The NHTSA is partially suspending EasyMile’s self-driving shuttle operation in Columbus, OH due to a passenger injury after a sudden stop going while going 7mph.
Boston’s MBTA will be adding solar-powered, e-ink, digital signs that show real-time transit information at 18 bus tops and three Green Line stations.
Chinese autonomous tech startup Pony.ai has recently secured $462 million in funding with support from Toyota.
Urban Sustainability
“…with transportation generating one-third of U.S. carbon emissions, it’s clear that unsafe pedestrian and biking conditions in our cities could end up making climate change much, much worse.” Read more about #VisionZero being a solution to climate change on Curbed.
What would it take to make Chicago a “15-minute city”? Changes to zoning regulations for more mixed-use development and much larger investments in biking and pedestrian infrastructure across the whole city might do the trick.
Greater Greater Washington looks at a few solutions on how to make transit signage more accessible for people with disabilities and how simple things, such as placement and visual markers, go a long way.
If you want to make sure sustainable transportation works for everyone, then you have to think about how your transportation advocacy affects different types of marginalized groups. John Greenfield on the Chicago Reader gives advice on how not to be a “livable streets jerk”.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
Bedford Park RFQ Submissions Due Monday
The Village of Bedford Park, outside of Chicago, is an industrial suburb where jobs outnumber residents by more than 50 to 1. With the support of Cook County, the Village has been studying ways to improve workers’ commutes around the clock. A new pilot, Connect2Work, aims to increase transit connections and job access with shared mobility services. SUMC, along with team members Antero Group and the Active Transportation Alliance, is providing technical assistance for the project and encourages transportation and technology providers to apply.
View the RFQ below.
RFQ: Connect2Work
The Village of Bedford Park, Illinois
Bedford Park, Illinois
Deadline Extended: March 2, 2020
RFP: Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow)
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Boston, MA
Deadline: March 3, 2020
RFP-Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan
Sunset Empire Transportation District
Astoria, OR
Deadline: March 16, 2020
RFP: Safe Routes to School Plan
City of Salinas
Salinas, CA
Deadline: March 18, 2020
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