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
Sharon Feigon Talks Microtransit in Undark Magazine
Cities around the world are using on-demand microtransit to serve essential mobility needs during the pandemic. With its ability to fill transit gaps and potentially incorporate technology to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the mode offers big benefits but also poses concerns regarding data privacy, service equity, and the ability to move large numbers of people. Undark Magazine interviews our Founder and Executive Director, Sharon Feigon, in this article that explores the benefits and watch-outs of integrating transit and microtransit into a more responsive system.
Ten Takeaways from the 2020 Virtual Shared Mobility Summit
Sharon Feigon and Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi speak before the Commissioner’s opening address at the Shared Mobility Summit.
The 2020 National Shared Mobility Summit LIVE on May 5-6 was filled with two days of virtual sessions, speeches, and discussions about accessible, equitable, and environmentally sound mobility in a pandemic and post-pandemic environment. Even if you missed the Summit, you can still read about what we learned and what we need to do now. From addressing mobility justice head-on to rethinking transit, these ten takeaways are calls to action for the months ahead. Read on the SUMC blog.
FREE WEBINAR SERIES:
Lessons Learned from Mobility on Demand On-Ramp
MOD for Mobility Integration
Date: Tuesday, June 23
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m. PT / 1:00 – 2:30 MT / 2:00 – 3:30 CT / 3:00 – 4:30 ET
REGISTER FOR JUNE 23
MOD for First/Last Mile Solutions
Date: Tuesday, June 30
Time: Noon – 1:30 p.m. PT / 1:00 – 2:30 MT / 2:00 – 3:30 CT / 3:00 – 4:30 ET
REGISTER FOR JUNE 30
In this series of two webinars, the Federal Transit Administration, the Shared-Use Mobility Center, and the six participating transit agencies from the Mobility on Demand (MOD) On-Ramp Program will share how they overcame hurdles and learned from SUMC and each other to develop innovate mobility pilots that extend the reach of traditional transit services by incorporating microtransit, mobility hubs, mobility-as-a-service, accessible ridehailing service, and bike share. Following the presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss strategies to develop MOD projects in their communities. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
Mobility Justice
The bicycle has been a symbol of independent mobility in times of civil unrest and protest throughout decades of social change. As anti-racist action becomes a national imperative, cyclists are reigniting that fervor of two-wheeled unity as people march for Black lives in cities around the world.
Check out this conversation between racial equity advocates on the Canadian Urban Institute’s CityTalk series, who discuss how Anti-Black racism in urbanist practices have resulted in exclusionary measures that continue the cycle of Black oppression in cities.
“Whose Streets? Our streets.” Read about the weight this chant carries regarding personal freedom when navigating neighborhood streets, especially during times of protest, in The New Republic.
Better Bike Share’s latest post aims to give you the necessary resources to dismantle racism in the transportation and planning fields, with important conversations and calls to action from prominent Black advocates, planners, and equity professionals to uproot and restructure society for more equitable civic goals.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
After four years of battling mobility giants Uber and Lyft in the Austin market, ridehailing nonprofit RideAustin is shutting down its operations in the city.
The director of the California Public Utilities Commission has given ridehailing companies in the state a stark reminder of the worker’s compensation deadline on July 1: Classify your drivers as employees or lose your operating authority.
The City of Indianapolis is looking for ways to creatively reuse the electric and digital infrastructure left from the shuttered BlueIndy EV carshare service. The RFI is listed below and submissions are open until August 14.
Tesla has enabled a feature called Car Access that allows US owners to share their vehicles with up to five people using app-enabled unlocking/access similar to carsharing.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Given the transportation challenges being faced by cities around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, European metros are banking on bikeways and cycle infrastructure to help commuters get to jobs as mass transit continues to be a hard sell for the social-distancing public.
DC continues to ramp up biking initiatives in the region to make active transportation options available for everyone, and it’s definitely being recognized—the Capital made the top five in the annual PlacesForBikes city ratings for most bikeable city in the US.
What makes a bikeshare system like the one in city of Hangzhou, China so successful it attracts riders from all areas while creating a safe, connected network where everyone can cycle freely? Residents getting one free hour of bikeshare time could be the answer.
Micromobility startup Spin will be hitting its first international market in Cologne, Germany with shared dockless scooters and plans to cover Dortmund and Esse in the future.
Transit
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have, at last, changed their guidance on using public transportation during the ongoing pandemic after facing backlash and criticism from Transportation for America, NACTO, TransitCenter, the American Public Transportation Association, and others.
Shared spaces, such as public transit, were seen as a natural enemy in the US when social distancing measures started to take hold. Former NYC DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow, Co-author of Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, look at global cities with strong, dense networks built for public transit that didn’t see a correlation between COVID-19 cases and using the bus or train.
UK electric vehicle company Arrival is touting a new EV bus design with integrated smart displays for real-time transit information, configurable seating arrangements for better passenger flexibility, and a modular EV platform that can help scale up or down the needs for custom models.
Creating actionable, informed initiatives to protect public transportation is more crucial than ever, and Planetizen has gathered a resource guide on the facts around transit contagion risk and best practices for mobility networks during this health crisis.
Technology
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a new platform called AV TEST to encourage datasharing practices from operators and states for autonomous vehicle development and testing, and the platform is completely accessible to the public.
Transportation technology and software company INIT has a new passenger-counting solution for transit that will manage load capacities on vehicles in real-time to calculate percentages of how full they are for safer operations during a time when social distancing is key.
Long Island Rail Road has revamped its TrainTime app to let commuters know about available space on train cars and proper socially distanced platform etiquette to promote safe transit use as New York moves through phased reopening.
Florida’s Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority now has the first inductive wireless charging station on the East Coast, which will be used to power electric buses for the agency.
Sustainability
As a means to create an alternative trail, Chicago has opened up around three miles of streets for bike and ped traffic along the (currently closed) Bloomingdale trail, aka The 606, to encourage social distancing for shared streets.
The Republic of Ireland will be dedicating €360 million annually to expanding biking and walking infrastructure to give active transportation a major boost. Residents can thank Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, a former bike shop owner and prominent cycling advocate.
Our seemingly never-ending health crisis creates a large problem for people who rely on shared mobility to get around as carshare services in cities like Seattle completely shut down and transit critics push people away from crowded buses.
Clear roads may sound like a dream come true for anti-congestion advocates, but as Mashable writes, these stretches of empty roadway could also mean a frightening increase in motorist speeding that can be outright deadly for pedestrians and cyclists.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
RFI: Voluntary Neighborhood Zero Emissions Delivery Zone
LA Cleantech Incubator
Los Angeles, CA
Deadline: June 29, 2020
RFP: Paratransit and Flex Route Services
City of DeKalb
DeKalb, IA
Deadline: July 16, 2020
RFI: Creative Uses for Utilizing Existing Curbside Electric, Telecommunications, and Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
IndyGO
Indianapolis, IN
Deadline: August 14, 2020
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