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
FTA Awards $14 Million in grant funding to support transit innovation
On August 27, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the 25 projects in 24 states that will receive a share of funding through the Accelerative Innovative Mobility (AIM) initiative.
“As we face this public health emergency, investments in innovation are critical for transit agencies to better meet rider expectations and adapt to changes in our transportation system,” said FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. “
AIM grant recipients will deploy new transportation technologies and services; twenty projects are located in or benefit rural areas; six may help alleviate COVID19-related issues; and many, if not all, add to service efficiency and improve customer experience. Every AIM grantee deserves our highest congratulations.
View the full list.
Fill up your calendar with Federal Transit Administration events
Stay in the know and connect with colleagues at roundtables, webinars, workshops, and more. View the calendar.
Mobility Justice
Journey through this interactive map that highlights 180 years of African American history around the Little Calumet River and in several South-Side Chicago neighborhoods along the African American Heritage Water Trail, highlighting sites that honor Underground Railroad freedom seekers, civil rights and environmental justice pioneers.
On September 1, 29-year-old Black bike rider Dijon Kizzee was fatally shot by two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies, who fired 15 to 20 rounds after they alleged that Kizzee punched one officer and dropped a pistol on the ground. Witnesses say they never saw Kizzee throw a punch, never saw a gun, and that he “wasn’t a threat.” He was stopped for violating a vehicle code.
Walkable, bikeable communities that thrive from mixed-use development can only truly be equitable if they account for racial and socioeconomic barriers. Officials, local leaders, and city planners must prioritize eliminating the wealth and health gaps that disproportionately affect Black families in cities like Chicago, according to Smart Cities Dive, before everyone can enjoy a 20-minute city.
“—sometimes you have to just dive in to see if it’s really a passion.” Read about Latoya Shauntay Snell’s experience with biking that inspired her to overcome medical turmoil, and the social struggles of being a Black cyclist in New York’s Bedford–Stuyvesant borough.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
In an effort to have riders better comply with COVID-19 measures, Uber will be requiring passengers who did not wear face masks during their trip to send a selfie in a mask before being allowed to ride again. This feature will be rolling out in the US and Canada by the end of September, with other markets to follow.
Citroën has launched 20 of its all-electric Ami vehicles in Paris, decaled with local French art, as part of Free2Move’s carsharing fleet.
Estonian ridehailing company Bolt is further expanding its affordable Bolt Lite service into Kenya, the cities of Nakuru and Kisumu to be exact, with an eye on introducing food delivery in the country next.
After Car2go left the city of Calgary last fall, homegrown option Communauto is now launching 150 Communauto Flex free-floating carshare vehicles in the city that offer a flexible alternative to car ownership.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
136 million micromobility trips were taken last year according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ newly released 2019 Shared Micromobility Report, which covers docked bikeshare, dockless bikeshare, and dockless scootersharing—making micromobility “the fifth-busiest subway or light rail system in the country.”
EV moped-sharing startup Revel has relaunched its service in New York, while adding new in-app safety features for riders, after halting service in response to three deaths in the city. Now, the company has taken its service to a new city (with 430 mopeds): San Francisco.
As Chicago’s scooter pilot rolls on outside of the downtown and lakefront areas, there is a need for more accessible options in shared micromobility. Lime is attempting to fill that gap by launching a seated scooter for people with limited mobility, available for direct delivery. You can put in your request now.
German mobility company TIER has unveiled a new scooter model for London that includes a built-in, foldable helmet and user-swappable batteries that can be changed at scooter charging stations for ride credits.
Transit
LA Metro announced that they are putting together a task force to investigate ways to enact fare-free transit for all users of the county’s bus and train system. The task force is hoping to deliver a proposal for the Metro CEO and Board of Directors to consider by the end of this year.
Hear the latest episode of the Talking Headways Podcast that features Chief Development Officer for the Port Authority of Allegheny County David Huffaker discussing integral pandemic-response initiatives the transit agency is implementing for the Pittsburgh region and how they aim to tackle future emergency situations with more robust resiliency plans.
As transportation systems worldwide have grinded to a halt and upended networks due to COVID-19 travel patterns, LSE Cities dives into the importance of COVID-19 relief support for the multitude of informal transit operators in metros like Nairobi and Mexico City, and how the populace rely more on private shuttles than formal systems.
US transit agencies have always been expected to provide the most publicly available transportation service in their regions while simultaneously staying 100% self-funded and profitable. In this light, the US Postal Service suffers from similar ‘measures of success’ that public transportation is currently facing.
Technology
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US has launched its AV TEST tool that tracks autonomous vehicle testing in the country, including data on “driverless pilots in 17 cities across nine states.”
Self-driving tech startup Motional (a joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai) has expanded its publicly available nuScenes dataset which adds a “lidar segmentation” application to the original 1,000 driving scenes, adding “1.4 billion annotated lidar points” and an entirely new dataset with ~100,000 annotated images.
World-famous architecture firm Zaha Hadid has released its design for the Moscow Klenoviy Boulevard Metro Station 2 project, and it includes an integrated linear light network on the ceiling and floors that offers wayfinding and alerts passengers about upcoming train arrivals.
Ford and the Oxfordshire County Council in the UK are teaming up for a new smart roadway safety tool that will use data from connected vehicles and street sensors to pinpoint potential crash-heavy areas as part of an 18-month pilot.
Sustainability
“Combining the weight of an adult rhinoceros and the aerodynamics of a refrigerator, SUVs require more energy to move around than smaller cars and therefore emit more CO2…” A new emissions analysis from The Guardian shows the stark, and much deadlier, difference that SUV emissions are for the environment compared to small passenger cars.
“The oft-heard choice among environmentalists is between city or country: Which one is better for the climate?” Bloomberg Green Writer and NYU professor Gernot Wagner pens a climate-focused call to the importance of cities in the fight against climate change and how urban metros combine the best of innovation and density to battle emissions.
The North American biking and walking haven of Vancouver may sound like the safest place for pedestrians and cyclists but a new study from the University of British Columbia shows that “neighbourhoods with high bikeability and walkability scores show higher crash risks to cyclists and pedestrians.”
A new partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and NACTO will give ten cities each $25,000 grants to create community-based street design projects that will use outdoor space for COVID-19 response initiatives such as food and supplies donation and distribution or shared, open space for local residents to promote active mobility.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
RFP: Specialized ADA Transportation Services: Southern Region Los Angeles County
Access Services
Los Angeles, CA
Deadline: September 17, 2020
(Registration required)
RFI: Development of an RFP for a Statewide Mobility Services Program
New York State Department of Transportation
New York, New York
Deadline: September 21, 2020
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