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
Shared Mobility Webinars
Webinars can provide focused knowledge and insight—without having to leave your desk. We’ve listed a few upcoming ones on our radar and want to direct you to our webinar page—which will soon have a new addition focused on data needs assessment and data-sharing approaches for mobility partnerships.
Carsharing Association
Carsharing’s Place in the Future of Mobility with Tim Papandreou (June 11, 6pm ET)
The carsharing industry led the new mobility revolution, now it is one option among many. Tim Papandreou, a leading expert in the future of mobility and automation who led strategic partnerships to commercialize Waymo and launch the world’s first fully self-driving ridehailing service, will explore the future of this mode.
Next City
How Technology can Improve Urban Design Engagement (June 12, 1pm ET)
Lou Huang, creator of Streetmix, will discuss how tech can break down barriers to civic engagement by letting users create a hypothetical street, with options for bus lanes, bike lanes, scooter lanes, sidewalks, parklets and benches, wayfinding signs, and more.
Impact > Mobility Webinar
“Monetizing Mobility: Show Me the Money!” (June 20, 1pm ET)
The City of Columbus, OH and Karma Automotive will address the business models underpinning mobility to establish how TNCs, cities, public transit, and automakers can work together to develop sustainable business models for long-term success.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Weeks after the Uber and Lyft protests on fair wages rocked the ridehail industry, California is very close to having all gig-economy workers recognized as employees entitled to labor protections and benefits.
Anyride is an app that lets you compare Lyft and Uber prices (with support for Via and Juno in the future) in one app, side by side.
Lyft is giving summer discounts to riders who need to get to or from 50 San Diego MTS transit stations to help cut traffic and improve air quality in the city.
Groupe Renault has partnered with Vulog to manufacture carshare-ready Renault ZOEs, aiming to produce 2,500 by the end of 2019.
Partnerships and Programs
After missing key transportation funding, the Illinois capital spending plan passed the state Senate with dedicated funding for active transportation and public transit with help from initiatives by Chicago mobility organizations. A step in the right direction.
Two bills passed the New York City Council too. One focused on pedestrian safety and the other creating a checklist the DOT must consider when redesigning roadways, including ADA accessibility, protected bike lanes, and wider sidewalks.
Palatine, IL, a northwestern suburb of Chicago, started a local Bike to School program with 50 kids in 2003 that encouraged safe cycling while promoting active mobility in the community. Fast forward 15 years and the program hit a record with 13 schools participating and 1,480 riders.
A new partnership between the Michigan DOT and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. looks to bring 40-foot autonomous buses to three regions in the state in 2021 as part of the AECOM-formed National Automated Bus Consortium.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
How is LA doing managing its 20,000-vehicle dockless mobility program? LAist breaks down the numbers and how the city is addressing issues around safety, accessibility, and data.
San Francisco wants to quadruple the amount of shared bikes in the city, up to 11,000, with a new plan to expand its dockless program to make it accessible to more riders.
What is Bird’s next move after helping to popularize the dockless scooter? The company is betting on an electric, sit-down moped.
New York’s dockless bikeshare pilot in the Rockaways, Queens is expanding through September with Lime adding an additional 200 bikes to the program.
Transit
One step closer to ditching iconic MetroCards, New York MTA launches its new OMNY contactless fare payment system at 16 subway stations and Staten Island buses, with the option to use contactless credit, debit cards or smartphones and smartwatches with NFC-enabled mobile wallets.
The Chicago Maroon looks at the ways Metra hinders transit equity in the city’s South Side and how that might change with a new bill that would make Metra fares equal to CTA prices and allow riders to pay with their Ventra fare cards.
Detroit and Atlanta are two sides of the same coin when it comes to their lack of a reliable suburban transit network, a history that stems from decades-old racial segregation that still affects how people live and move in the regions.
VIDEO: Watch and learn about the history of the US rail system and how a resurgence in the talks about high-speed rail could guide the country to what other parts of the world have been using for decades.
Technology
So the mass roll out of autonomous vehicles may be decades away, but a new study by the Journal of the American Planning Association shows the lack of preparation from city officials to buffer the effects of driverless cars and technology.
Vancouver is getting 50 new transit screens courtesy of TransLink that will allow riders to plan trips, view live real-time schedules, see upcoming departures, get network updates, and see emergency notifications.
How can AVs complement, not compete with, public transportation? One way would be to use them for filling gaps in transit deserts where traditional buses and rail don’t currently go.
The Michigan DOT’s Office of Passenger Transportation is keen to expand new mobility technology and programs in the state with its Michigan Mobility Challenge. Learn about the agency’s 13 selected projects that use new transportation solutions to fill transit gaps for seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans.
Urban Sustainability
British Columbia just passed a new Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that requires 10% of all light-duty cars and trucks to be emissons-free by 2025 and to completely prohibit the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2040.
According to a new study by the University of Colorado Denver, good bike infrastructure doesn’t just make it safer for cyclists on streets, it helps drivers too.
Carmel, Indiana is revitalizing the city’s downtown to create a more walkable, bikeable urban setting with mixed-use development as part of a push for a more multimodal community.
VIDEO: StreetFilms captures Amsterdam’s bold project to remove up to 11,000 parking spaces from the city’s core and how the Frans Halsbuurt neighborhood already shows what a less car-dependent community looks like. Watch here.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
RFP: Fare Payment & Collection System
County of Palm Beach, Florida
Deadline: June 14, 2019 4PM
Palm Beach County is seeking proposals from qualified system integrators to enter into a contract to implement a new Regional Account-Based Transportation Fare Payment and Collection System for Palm Tran, which will offer multiple forms of payment options to our patrons. In addition, the system should be based on an open architecture perspective with open Application Programming Interfaces. The system should facilitate integration with third party hardware and software as the system ages. Click the “Public Access” button for immediate access and search for “F-19-056/SS”.
RFP: Operation of a Public Transit System for the City of Lancaster, Ohio
City of Lancaster, Ohio
Deadline: June 24, 2019 10AM
The purpose of this Request for Proposals is to solicit proposals for the operation of Lancaster‐Fairfield Public Transit for the City of Lancaster (City) and Fairfield County. The City requires the system proposal as a whole package, with accessible transit service being provided.
RFP: Downtown Pittsburgh Mobility Plan
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP)
Deadline: June 28, 2019 5PM
The PDP requests proposals from qualified firms or teams of firms with the appropriate expertise to serve as a consultant and develop a multimodal mobility plan for Downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The PDP strives to advance an accessible, welcoming, and safe multimodal transportation system that is informed by a shared vision while balancing needs and optimizing space in the geographically limited Central Business District. Answers to questions will be made available to all respondents via email and the PDP website at downtownpittsburgh.com/mobilityRFP on Monday June 17, 2019.
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