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
The FTA just announced $15 million in funding for innovative mobility projects in public transportation.
Projects must involve mobility on demand, strategic transit automation research, and/or mobility payment integration. Any takers?
Last chance to register for the Mobility on Demand Sandbox Innovation and Knowledge Accelerator workshop in Seattle-Tacoma on May 14. Join SUMC staff and area transportation leaders in a technical work session and field trip where you’ll experience MOD projects first-hand. Register here.
Join the Shared-Use Mobility Center and other local/regional partners for the Bedford Park Last Mile Mobility Demo Day on May 23 in Bedford Park, IL. The event, which will be held at the Holiday Inn – Midway, will help to build momentum for first/last mile mobility solutions that work for industrial areas. It kicks off with an exhibition of mobility partners including the Active Transportation Alliance, Chicago Transit Authority, Innova EV, Divvy, and more. A reception at 5 Rabbit Cervecería will follow. Learn more and register.
Missed the #SUMC19 Shared Mobility Summit? Talking Headways Podcast “Transportation Professionals Will Make or Break the Planet” covers the exciting plenary panel that took place this year on March 6 featuring leaders from Austin’s CapMetro, the City of Vancouver, and Massachusetts DOT. Listen on The Overhead Wire.
Check out SUMC’s newest entry in the MOD Learning Center:
King County Metro, Sound Transit, the City of Seattle, and Via partner for “Via to Transit”, Southeast Seattle & Tukwila, WA, 2019. Read more.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
Uber and Lyft drivers went on strike in major cities around the world yesterday to fight for fair labor practices and wages, coinciding with Uber’s upcoming IPO.
Innisfil, Ontario was one of the first cities to incorporate subsidized ridehail trips into an official transit system. After a year of success, they’re raising fares to cover program costs.
Mobility platform Turo is teaming up with Smartcar to make P2P carsharing more seamless with wireless smartphone lock/unlock for renters, starting in CA and NJ.
Partnerships and Programs
A $2 trillion infrastructure deal in the US could be making headway in Washington as the initial meeting was held last week between top Democrats and the President.
Follow Transportation for America’s three-part analysis and critique of the USDOT’s BUILD program (formerly known as TIGER).
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new zero-emission pilot fund along with the LA Cleantech Incubator and the Transportation Electrification Partnership.
The Bayou Greenways 2020 project underway in Houston is a vision to “connect 150 miles of hike-and-bike trails to parks and neighborhoods across the city’s nine major bayous.”
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Dockless scooters are finally coming to Chicago this summer, in the form of a four-month pilot program allowing up to 3,500 scooters headed to the city’s West and Northwest Sides on June 15.
The National League of Cities released a report that details the history and policy background of micromobility, analyzing the different modes and their evolution.
Bird found a way to operate its micromobility service in San Francisco under local regulations: monthly scooter rentals with no cap on the number of rides taken with its subscription model.
After an initial soft launch, Raleigh, NC officially cuts the ribbon on its Citrix Cycl bikeshare program with 18 dock stations open and plans to expand to 30 stations + 300 bikes.
Transit
ADA-accessible rides and paratransit as a whole are becoming more on demand thanks to public-private partnerships. Metro Magazine looks at a few pilots and best practices in the US.
You can now buy tickets from Denver’s Regional Transportation District in the Uber app with the help of ticketing software company Masabi.
Fast-charging infrastructure for EV buses is slowly gaining speed, but planning, development, and charge management challenges will need to be worked out before transit in America goes all electric.
Technology
What will good digital infrastructure look like for the future of mobility? Open data, publicly-accessible platforms, and a focus on privacy are key.
TomTom has been ramping up its partnerships for the past several years, integrating with mulimodal platforms, ridehailing map frameworks, and more. Now, the sat nav company is aiming to undertake autonomous vehicle tech.
On-demand transportation tech company Spare, a Vancouver-based operation that works with DART and DCTA in Texas, is growing with new seed funding from Mitsubishi.
Aptis, a 100% electric bus by Alstom being piloted in Santiago, Chile, borrows features from modern trams such as three double doors on both sides, modular interior, and special electric traction that reduces noise and vibration.
Urban Sustainability
California’s proposed Senate Bill 50 would increase building density near transit stops and in job-rich communities without transit, yet low-income communities may still lose out if they don’t have adequate public transportation.
After a key biking corridor in Seattle was upgraded to a safer protected bike lane, the city saw an over 400% increase in ridership. It looks like safer streets and active mobility go hand in hand.
Sidewalk Labs has released design principles “to make streets safer and more efficient” in the wake of new mobility technologies. Roads aren’t just for cars anymore!
The Sierra Club has a message for ridehailing companies like Uber and Lyft: go 100% electric by 2030.
Did someone forward this to you? You can sign up for our newsletter here.
