By Stephen Moss, excerpt from The Guardian 28 April 2015 Lyon, France Vesco, the politician responsible for sustainable transport in Lyon, played a leading role in introducing the city’s Vélo’v bike-sharing scheme a decade ago. It has since been replicated in cities all over the world. Now, though, he is convinced that digital technology has changed the rules of the game, …
Self-driving vehicles could be a part of Rochester’s future transit options.
ROCHESTER, MINN. The Post-Bulletin reports that First Transit Inc., the parent company of the Rochester Public Transit Operator, is partnering with driverless vehicle company EasyMile to pilot an autonomous passenger shuttle at an office park near San Francisco. The shuttle would connect riders to multiple Bay-area transit options by running a fixed route in the office park. The pilot will begin …
Uber undermining transit in denser areas
From consultant Jarrett Walker, cross-posted from Human Transit, 15 Dec 2016 This post pulls together everything I’ve had to say on the subject of how ride-sourcing companies like Uber could impact cities. Henry Grabar at Slate has a good piece on an issue that I have been raising the alarmabout for a while. The rise of ride-hailing companies is increasingly viewed not as …
Planning for Shared Mobility: What cities can do now
Share mobility has the potential to reduce VMT and increase access and mobility for those lacking it, while reducing costs and their need to own cars. Local governments can directly support shared mobility in their communities in many ways. These are a few (Shaheen & Cohen, 2016). BECOMING PARTNERS OF SHARED MODES Governments and public agencies can support shared mobility …
Findings from 2016 research by the National Academies and the Shared Use Mobility Center + Recommendations for cities, agencies, partners
The Shared Use Mobility Center performed National Academies (Science, Medicine, Engineering) Transit Cooperative Research Program project J-11/22 (published as TCRP Research Report 188) explores opportunities and challenges for public transportation as they relate to technology-enabled mobility services, including suggesting ways that transit professionals can learn from, build upon, and interface with new shared mobility modes. The report provides a snapshot of a rapidly …
Former Tesla and BMW exec says self-driving cars will start to kill car ownership in just 5 years
Excerpt from Business Insider, 14 December 2016 Millennials increasingly prefer to whip out an app when they need a ride rather that commit to the expenses associated with owning a car. For example, a University of Michigan study published in January found the percentage of young people with a driver’s license to be in decline. The adoption of autonomous tech adds …
45,000 Uber and Lyft drivers clogging roads, according to San Francisco Examiner
According to the San Francisco Examiner, some 45,000 Uber and Lyft drivers are now working in the city. By comparison, a mere 1,800 taxi drivers cover the same turf. A national study of traffic estimated that San Franciscans spend an extra 37 minutes each day stuck in traffic, a number that has been steadily rising since 2008. In a recent …
6-person Uber vehicles and riders using program for transit, allows skipping taxes on commutes
UberPool vehicles must be able to accommodate six passengers to qualify for pretax benefits, says WageWorks. by Eric Newcomer December 13, 2016 Uber Technologies Inc. is expanding a partnership with WageWorks Inc. that allows users of the ride-sharing giant’s UberPool service to pay for commutes to and from work with pretax funds, bringing the benefit to several cities across the U.S. The …
Denver new city hub will be an internet of things (IoT), have self-driving EasyMile shuttle, and an energy grid with solar power during the day and batteries at night
Peña Station, currently a remote rail station south of Denver International Airport, may be the location of one of the most futuristic smart city developments. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock expressed his desire for Peña Station to be more than just a transit hub and earlier this year Panasonic jumped at the chance to make it a thriving community, outfitted with …
UberPool app upgrades increasing convenience and options, may increase already 50% share of Uber rides in San Francisco
UberPool is one of the cheaper ride-hailing options, grouping nearby passengers who are headed in the same direction. The problem is that all of those pickups and drop-offs can be time consuming. To help, Uber has announced a raft of new features for its mobile apps, including status notifications for riders. Once you’ve confirmed a booking, that means you’ll receive …