The Mobility Hub

Your weekly guide to the latest in shared mobility

SUMC News and Announcements

 

Action Agenda teaser coming to #SUMC2022

Coming soon—The Shared Mobility 2030 Action Agenda!
SUMC pulled together groups across the public, private and non-profit realms to forge a shared vision and concrete actions around an integrated network of mobility options. The Action Agenda aims to provide mobility justice and access for all while reducing pollution for cleaner, healthier communities. Stay tuned for the Action Agenda reveal at the Summit!

The 2022 National Shared Mobility Summit, happening in Chicago on May 17 & 18, is the place to be if you want to learn about our upcoming 2030 Action Agenda—and get a chance to see the speakers below—so register today!

New Speakers

Jana Lynott
Senior Strategic Policy Advisor
AARP

Kevin Chambers
Principal
Full Path Transit Technology

Ann Foss
Principal Planner
City of Arlington

Learn more on our Speakers page

Interested in sponsorship or exhibiting? Contact us today and make our #SUMC2022 Summit the best yet!

We’d like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2022 National Shared Mobility Summit a reality.

New transportation projects featured on SUMC’s Mobility Learning Center
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and read about electric carshare in Honolulu, an AV shuttle pilot in Philadelphia, and microtransit in Atlanta and Indianapolis.

Fresh in the SUMC blog: Mobility Hubs in Affordable Housing
We strive to connect communities, so our work with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and TransForm in the Bay Area aims to do just that with mobility hubs around affordable housing units—bringing together EV charging, carshare, bikeshare, transit passes, and much more. Read about the program.

#Every1OnTheBus | April 12 at 1:00-2:00 PM CT
Don’t miss this online dialogue hosted by the Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library (TACL) task force featuring the National Center for Applied Transit TechnologySUMC, and the National Rural Transit Assistance Program.

Mobility Justice

Pedestrian deaths hit a 33-year high—and we know unhoused folks and POC are more likely to be crash victims. That still hasn’t prompted NHTSA to include pedestrian crashworthiness tests in its safety ratings proposal (which you can comment on through April).

Cool project alert: Transit Center created a zine to explore gender-marginalized people’s experiences in transportation! Listen to Streetsblog’s newest podcast episode to learn all about Subtext from the editors.

Other cool mobility projects will be coming out of Massachusetts soon after the state announced $5 million in grant funding for pilots connecting disadvantaged populations with clean, electric transportation.

The defeat of a transit equity study aimed at improving the mobility of Virginia’s disabled community is more than disheartening. But some activists are shifting focus onto funding to remove transportation barriers.

Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling 

Hailing a taxi in New York? Soon you’ll book your cab through the Uber app according to a new major deal between the ridehailing company, Curb Mobility, and Creative Mobile Technologies.

Ridehail drivers are drowning in surging gas prices. To offer help, Uber and Lyft added an extra fuel fee paid by riders, which flows directly to drivers—but critics say it’s not enough.

One central downside to ridehail is the additional street congestion, but new research has found a solution: coordination between ridehailing companies.

The Routing Company is bringing similar coordination ideas to public transit, creating software that assesses where riders want to be picked up, and how to gather riders into a shared bus or shuttle efficiently.

If you’ve wondered why it’s so difficult to get an Uber in the company’s hometown, the Financial Times has broken down San Francisco’s relationship with taxi drivers and ridehailing apps.

Bikesharing & Micromobility

The Infrastructure Bill delivered some of the funds transportation folks have been asking for years—and now officials must prioritize equitable, sustainable, and active transportation. Candice Xie believes that by doing so we can make a dent in our car dependency.

Mayor Michelle Wu is sticking to her transportation goals in Boston as the city launches a first-of-its-kind e-cargo bike program focusing on small business deliveries.

Smart scooters are hitting Australian streets this week! Beam is testing PathPilot—technology employing an onboard camera to identify where the scooter is ridden and employ restrictions accordingly.

Bikesharing arrived in West Palm Beach thanks to train operator Brightline, Related Companies (an actual corporate name), and local partners launching BrightBike.

Transit

An industry-spanning driver shortage, brought on by the pandemic, endures as transit riders ease back onto trains and buses. Mass Transit magazine looks into SUMC’s report “Managing the Labor Shortage at Transit Agencies” to find out why (featuring insight from SUMC Program Coordinator Nate Seeskin). Read the report here.

Fuel prices getting you down? New Zealand has the best prescription for expensive gas amid the fuel crisis: half-price public transit for everybody.

Northwest Indiana envisions a more transit-oriented future filled with mixed-use housing and fast and reliable commuter rail (like South Shore Line extensions). And you know what? It deserves it!

If you’re ready to see 40% faster bus service, double the service near homes, and 74% more near jobs in Ann Arbor, MI, then you’ll love the city’s new 2045 long-range plan.

The Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit line cuts the ribbon on April 1st—the first BRT corridor in San Francisco! No April Fools needed.

Technology

200,000+ images from around NYU will help Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings and the university improve wayfinding tech for pedestrians with visual impairments.

Three cheers to Arlington, TX’s autonomous vehicle RAPID program and FTA Integrated Mobility Innovation grantee for over 28,000 trips and securing an extension grant from the North Central Texas COG!

Autonomous trucking could eventually cover 90% of the driving for long-haul trips, according to a new University of Michigan study. But the “big ifs” of weather, regulations, and infrastructure still loom.

Tire titan Bridgestone gets cozy with self-driving startup May Mobility through a new investment that includes sharing the former’s predictive tire wear modeling tech and the latter’s AV operation insight.

Sustainability

If you hadn’t heard, there’s a worldwide fuel shortage keeping gas prices sky-high. The International Energy Agency’s solution: let’s make public transportation, carpooling, and car-free living viable for more people.

Removal of dilapidated urban highways is a route for revitalization in cities aiming to reverse physical and racial divides while reconnecting communities separated decades ago. Planetizen explores.

Another solution that towns across the US are using to stave off gas price hikes: blanket available space with electric vehicle charging stations.

Researchers examined how much of a dent green roofs and rooftop gardens actually make in combatting the urban heat island effect fueling extreme heat. The conclusion? It’s complicated.

Project Funding Opportunities

RFP: Strategic Plan Development Services
Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation
Bloomington, IN
Deadline: April 11

RFP: Senior Mobility Program
City of Placentia
Placentia, CA
Deadline: April 21

RFP: Mobility on Demand Platform
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
Rhode Island
Deadline: April 22

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