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
2020 National Shared Mobility Summit
March 17-19, 2020
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
Mobility for all is coming. Learn more.
Reminder: SUMC Webinar on Microtransit & Public-Private Partnerships
September 24, 2019 | 1:00 to 2:30 CDT
Join SUMC, King County Metro, Sound Transit, the Cities of Newton, Massachusetts, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Arlington, Texas, and Via for a webinar will explore four public-private partnerships across the US that use microtransit and TNC partnerships to meet various needs within their communities.
Road to the 2019 Climate Summit
On September 23, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and other world leaders will gather in New York City for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, which aims to boost the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to discuss concrete plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% over the next decade, with net-zero emissions by 2050. Local efforts will drive action around the world while https://www.climateweeknyc.org/, which runs through September 29th, will feature panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, seminars, and more.
Learn more about the Climate Action Summit.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
A landmark bill was passed in California that requires gig-economy companies like Lyft and Uber to classify workers as employees instead of independent contractors—a massive win for labor rights advocates.
90% of all metro Vancouver residents live withing walking distance to transit, but transit isn’t 24/7. Enter ridehailing, a phenomenon that Vancouver might finally adopt to complement, not compete, with existing service.
Waze Carpool makes the case on Forbes that carpooling in cities can be a major part in beating crushing traffic and that sharing a trip helps reduce single-occupancy driving. Agreed.
How large is the growth of carsharing services around the world? A new report from Vulog states that the average fleet size has expanded to 546 cars in 2019, a 68% increase since 2015.
Partnerships and Programs
The US DOT awarded Automated Driving Systems Demonstration Grants grants to Michigan, Ohio and Virginia, the first grant recipients of the nationwide program.
Chicago-based urban solutions organization City Tech Collaborative is working on a tool with Microsoft, Esri, d3i Systems, and the City of Chicago that will study urban heat data and “quantify the impact of urban heat interventions or land use policy changes”.
A new study on the development of Barcelona’s “Superblocks” finds that if the city installs 503 potential superblock communities, private vehicle trips would fall by 230,000 a week, significantly improving air quality, public health, and safety while reducing noise levels.
The City of Chicago has released a new initiative called West Side Vision Zero Traffic Safety Plan that focuses on equity and street enhancements, equaling to 15 strategies for improving traffic and pedestrian safety in the East and West Garfield Park, North Lawndale and Austin communities
Bikesharing and Micromobility
Boston’s Bluebikes bikeshare system is set to hit its 10 millionth trip in the coming days. Congrats Bluebikes!
Uber is scaling back its dockless JUMP bikeshare operations in San Diego and Atlanta citing regulation pressures and safety issues.
Seattle has a dockless bike parking problem, with sidewalk clutter being a major pain to pedestrians across the city, but a simple solution used by Northwest neighbor Portland might just clean things up: charge the users who poorly park bikes.
Dockless scooters have been a hot topic of debate in many cities worldwide, with some governments heavily regulating or even banning them on city streets. One CityLab writer wants people to reconsider their hate for the two-wheeled mode and understand how they could benefit transportation networks instead.
Transit
The New York MTA has released a $51.5 billion 2020-2024 capital plan to improve the city’s transportation system with a major focus on subway modernization and upgrades.
A $217 million project will see Sound Transit add a 2.4-mile extension to the Tacoma Link light rail system that will add six stops through the Stadium District and the Hilltop area, hoping to ease congestion and allow more people to ditch their cars for transit.
“There’s no such thing, as cold, hard reality.” Jalopnik wants to take you into the overhyped and weird world of Hyperloop vaporware which was started by Elon Musk’s 2013 white paper and is now propagated by elite techno-futurists. Luckily, we have proven solutions that can be used right now for fast, land-based travel: high-speed rail.
The proposed Dickens Greenway project, that aims to connect Chicago’s Lincoln Park to Clybourn Avenue, is being debated among neighbors, with opposition saying it could upend the neighborhood character. If Chicago wants to increase sustainable, healthy and connected transportation options, then people will need to adopt infrastructure that supports it.
Technology
One app to rule them all! The Transit app wants you to have access to and pay for 11 bikeshare systems and several public transit options in North America through one, seamless account, with more cities and modes to follow.
What’s on autonomous vehicle startup Voyage’s mind for the future of mobility? Low-speed driverless cars (zero to 25 mph) that focus on helping seniors in retirement communities move around.
Check out this new open data portal on the City of Vancouver’s website that gives you the option to build a personalized map that includes bikeways, greenways, EV charging points, transit info, and more using public datasets.
Move over radiators. London is proposing to use heat generated by the city’s Underground transit system to warm up 700 homes, in a push to become more energy efficient and lower carbon emissions.
Urban Sustainability
AUDIO: Listen to Reinventing Transport’s latest podcast episode with Anjali Mahendra, the co-author of the World Resources Institute’s new paper analysis on 499 cities’ urban sprawl and how the negative consequences of outward expansion affects lower-income cities the most.
What does Bike Snob think will happen if a possible helmet law for NYC cyclists goes forward? It’ll deter people from riding bikes and reduce the important “safety in numbers” effect.
A bill backed by some New York state assembly members aimed at fining people who look at their phones while walking misses the big point on pedestrian safety that Gothamist wants to spell out for them: “it’s the cars, stupid!”
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has amassed a large dataset, as part of its On To 2050 regional transportation plan, that catalogs 30,000 miles of roads across six counties and municipalities that shows the gaps in walkability in the Chicago region, making it valuable resource for localities in active transportation planning.
Requests for Proposals, Qualifications, or Information
RFP: Regional Transportation, Congestion Management Process, and Intelligent Transportation System Architecture, Operations and Implementation Plans
Lane Council of Governments
Lane County, Oregon
Deadline: October 9, 2019
RFI: Twin Cities EV Mobility Network – EVSE hardware, software, ownership models
City of Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Deadline: October 14, 2019
RFP: 2021 Transportation Alternatives Program
Kansas Department of Transportation
Kansas
Deadline: November 1, 2019
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