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
A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SHARON FEIGON
Hello Friends,
I wanted to personally share the latest news about the 2020 National Shared Mobility Summit.
As many of you may have heard on our site and social channels, we are rescheduling our 2020 Summit. On Monday, March 9th, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a Disaster Proclamation for the State of Illinois over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and since then the situation has continued to escalate in Illinois and across the world.
We are finalizing a new, in-person date for the Summit for August 2020. It is our hope that this new date will provide a safer environment for all.
And in the meantime? We are committed to continuing the momentum of the Summit in virtual channels. Registered attendees will be able to participate in live plenary sessions and we are considering additional breakout sessions and interviews with key leaders that will occur over the next few months. These are not replacements for our in-person event, but ways to keep the conversations going forward.
We know that many of you are also facing a variety of challenges with your agencies and businesses and we want to foster conversation about how we are all meeting these new challenges.
Thank you for your patience as we sort out how to do this. We plan to highlight all our sponsors (see our wonderful sponsors listed below) and honor all registrations for our new events. We truly need your support as we learn how to be resilient in an increasingly complex environment. Let’s look ahead. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Sharon Feigon
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Because of the spread of Coronavirus in the US and around the world, gig-economy companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are offering paid time off to their drivers to help mitigate workers accepting trips while sick. Does this bring “independent contractors” closer to “employee” status who deserve benefits? (Most likely yes).
Go360, a subscription-based ridehail service for commuters, launches in Sacramento and Davis, CA offering offering four rides a day, seven days a week, for a tidy $250 a month.
EV industry source Electrive looks at the electrification of carsharing around Europe and how the latest shifts in technology have turned many gas-powered fleets into emissions-reducing shared mobility alternatives that bank on multimodality.
German mobility platform Wunder Mobility is launching a carpooling services in North America that aims to boost shared commutes to reduce emissions and parking needs.
Partnerships and Programs
Minneapolis has released a draft of its Transportation Action Plan that hopes to create a more connected network of streets, public transit, bikes, and other forms of mobility to cover issues like climate change, economic equity, and healthy living.
Officials want to help cut car commuting in Austin, TX with a new proposed plan that will give free transit passes to select employers to help get people onto buses and trains.
The California Transportation Commission is working on a draft plan that will push for more inexpensive, “quick-build” projects for streets and right of way improvements in the state to quickly fix issues around safety and access.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Divvy and the Chicago DOT are gearing up to start the bikeshare expansion into the city’s South Side this spring, with a new set of pedal assist e-bikes that include a built-in cable lock (to end trips at bike racks and sign poles) that will be part of the rollout with regular bikes.
From our Streetsblog friends in NYC, a case for making biking safer in the City, as it is one of the safest ways to travel with less health risks and more health benefits.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is urging people to “Bike or walk to work” in a bid to reduce the spread of Coronavirus from crowded trains. Maybe he should focus on less cyclist ticketing stings and more bike lane-blocking enforcement to make that happen.
Buffalo’s Reddy Bikeshare is extending service around Niagara Falls in 30 locations starting at the end of March.
Transit
The top 5 US transit systems are stepping up cleaning measures in the wake of the Coronavirus, which is communicable through close contact with others. Practices include daily cleanings, pandemic task forces, increased communication and signage.
Austin, TX’s Cap Metro are looking at a bold future that includes a light rail system that covers downtown, and a route straight to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The next step: how to finance the whole thing.
This frank, in-depth, and insightful Vice article asses the current state of public transit in the US and how it got that way (politics, priorities, privatization…). While the solutions cited are limited, it is up to all of us to fill in those blanks.
Good news for commuters in the NC Triangle as Durham County commissioners voted unanimously to approve $2 Billion to study a rail line that would run from Durham to Johnston counties, with stops in Raleigh, Morrisville, Cary, and Garner.
Technology
Two volvos in San Francisco might soon drive themselves as Uber resumes AV testing in the City, its hometown.
London-based company D-Fly envisions the 38-mile-per-hour “Hyperscooter” made from carbon-fiber and aerospace-grade aluminium with integrated GPS navigation. It comes at an eye-watering $5,000 price tag though.
A new MaaS app in Karlsruhe, Germany from transportation tech company INIT will giver users the power to book and manage bus, train, carshare and bikeshare trips for more seamless multimodal mobility.
China largest ridehailing player Didi is now offering home delivery service in key major areas in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Urban Sustainability
In an urban setting, how can we avoid close contact with others, especially while taking public transit, when trying to lower the risk of contracting COVID-19? Well, CityLab wants to remind you to stop touching stuff as a start.
As our population ages and loses the ability to drive (and even walk to) where they need to go, what can be done to make sure they are included in the conversations when cities plan for more active transportation and street safety measures?
We need to shift perceptions in order to shift modes. While technology poses new mobility possibilities for the future, we can invest in and improve a system that definitely lowers carbon emissions right now: public transit.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
RFP: Safe Routes to School Plan
City of Salinas
Salinas, CA
Deadline: March 18, 2020
RFP: Paratransit Demand Response Services
Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority Proposal # 2020-15
Deadline: April 30, 2020
We’d like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2020 National Shared Mobility Summit.
Did someone forward this to you? You can sign up for our newsletter here.
