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
Carpooling in California: My experience taking Scoop to BART. SUMC Program Director Prashanth Gururaja tried Bay Area Rapid Transit’s Scoop to BART service, a Mobility on Demand Sandbox program that encourages people to carpool to select BART stations using Scoop’s ride-matching app. Prashanth was there every “step” of the way and has insightful comments about this and similar partnerships. Check out the blog post and videos.
Mobility data and technology company Arity followed up this pre-summit post with their Top 3 SUMC Summit Takeaways.
The 2019 National Shared Mobility Summit included a wide range of contributors from both the public and the private sectors. Listen to the keynote and the plenary recordings on the SUMC MOD Learning Center.
Ridehailing and Carpooling
Who will operate Chicago’s bikeshare program? Activists challenge deal that would allow Lyft to continue as sole Divvy operator.
After taking a receiving a pay cut through an in-app notification, Uber drivers went on a 25-hour strike to protest the lower wages. Hear what drivers had to say about it on Slate.
Middle-Eastern ridehailing company Careem is rumored to be near a buyout from Uber, valued at $3.1 billion.
Alibaba and Tencent are linking up with Chinese automakers to set up a $1.5 billion ridehailing venture in the country, putting pressure on local giant Didi Chuxing.
Carsharing
BlueLA carsharing gives people in LA county the option to use an affordable and sustainable way to get around that compliments public transit.
MILES Mobility is a new free-floating service in Hamburg and Berlin that charges by the mile, instead of by the minute like most traditional operators, for more stress-free carsharing.
Read how Vulog is helping automakers, tech startups, and car rental companies become shared mobility providers in an interview with CEO Gregory Duconge on Automotive News.
Indian P2P carsharing & bikesharing platform Drivezy is rumored to be getting a big boot in funding very soon by giants Amazon and Japan’s SoftBank.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Dig into a small analysis on the dichotomy of private automobility vs shared micromobility and the psychology behind it.
Mobility solutions platform Passport has announced a collaborative program to monitor dockless scooter pilots and track curb space management in 3 US cities (Charlotte, NC, Omaha, NE, and Detroit, MI), so they can share best practices and tools.
The right regulatory approach to get dockless scooters on New York streets,while properly managing curb and sidewalk space, would help alleviate major congestion and connect people to transit hubs.
Rules on pedal-assist ebike specifications & roadway usage dropped in the form of an ordinance a few weeks ago as Lyft courts Chicago to implement the proposed Divvy expansion plan.
Transit
Cleveland State University has released a study on the impact of public transportation in Cuyahoga County showing that the area had higher property value and levels of employment, and lower poverty levels when there was better access to transit.
According to a new report from APTA, at least $232 billion in public transportation investments are needed in the US to provide safe and reliable mobility service to all. How would this affect overall economic growth? The organization cites a yield of 4-to-1 in returns.
The Transportation Trades Department, a division inside the US’s largest union group AFL-CIO, has released an 8-point policy outlining the steps that public agencies should follow to ensure that job displacement is mitigated from autonomous vehicle development.
“When you look at successful places, [transit] is not just a service for the poor and it’s not just a service for the carless,” said Citizens Research Council of Michigan President Eric Lupher on the state of public transportation in Michigan. “It’s a choice.”
Technology
Finnish utility company Fortum, Momentum Dynamics, and the City of Oslo are going to install wireless charging systems for electric taxis, a world first, as the city moves to make all taxis zero emission from 2023 on.
Startup Optimus Ride is bringing self-driving shuttles to NYC’s Brooklyn Navy Yard to ferry workers around the site as the first autonomous vehicle pilot in the state of New York.
A new app called RYDES in Germany rewards people for using carsharing, bikesharing, and e-scooter services, as well as public transport with rail provider Deutsche Bahn, with points that can be used for mobility services and other travel benefits.
Urban Sustainability
With approval near completion but not yet final, New York may be the first city in the US to enact congestion pricing in a move to help fix traffic woes and give MTA a big boost in funding.
Electric vehicles, most notably EV bus fleets, are increasingly displacing oil consumption in the world with China being the leader. Read more on Electrek.
The World Resources Institute’s Transformative Urban Mobility program has two new online guides that aim to help cities reduce traffic and implement better transportation demand management policies.
Learn how four cities in the US, outlined by nonprofit organization America Walks, create opportunities to improve safety, walkability, and transit access for Latino communities on Salud America.
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