by Innovative Mobility Research | Jul 6, 2020 |
Author: Vulog Date: July 2, 2020 TSRC’s Susan Shaheen has been selected for Vulog’s Top 20 of 2020 Influential Women in Mobility. The “Influential Women of Mobility” project celebrates women’s achievements in mobility and encourages a shift towards greater gender equality in the industry. In this year’s 2020 edition, Vulog asked the 20 leading women – who were nominated over the course of several months – to share their personal insight into how mobility has and will continue to transform in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, starting with the phrase: “During these unprecedented times, mobility is more important than ever because…” The unique perspectives in this report are based on a collection of diverse fields of expertise and backgrounds (from carsharing and ride-hailing to private industries and public/government organizations or academia) that shed tremendous light on the road ahead to societal, economic, and environmental recovery via mobility. Read the report...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jun 22, 2020 |
Author: Dave Lee Date: June 17, 2020 Uber has signed a deal to manage public transport in Marin County, in the San Francisco Bay area, with its software. Residents in Marin, which has a population of 250,000, will be able to book rides on public minibuses through Uber’s app, which will match riders travelling in the same direction. Rides will cost $4 per mile, or $3 for those with disabilities or other mobility issues, with the fee going directly to Marin Transit. Uber will not collect a commission, instead charging the authority a flat monthly rate for the next two years, totaling no more than $80,000 over that period. While the contract is minor when set against Uber’s quarterly revenues of $3.5bn, it could lay the ground for Uber to sell its software as a service to public transport officials across the world. David Reich, Uber’s head of transit, said the company was in discussions with… Read the full article...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jun 12, 2020 |
June 12, 2020 Congratulations to Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) survey researchers Jacquelyn Broader and Adam Cohen on earning spot Staff Appreciation and Recognition Awards! Read more about their efforts and achievements here....
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jun 3, 2020 |
Jim Motavalli May 29, 2020 It was a difficult question even before the coronavirus pandemic hit: When self-driving cars eventually rule the roads, will Americans own their cars or make use of ride-hailing fleets? The challenge is now threefold. Self-driving car technology had already reached a plateau, and getting to full Level 5 autonomy will be more difficult than many had thought. With the nation’s economy hobbled by the virus, investment is slowing. And to car owners, their private automobile is now a sanctuary, and it’s unclear how long that attitude will persist. A CarGurus.com poll of 400 active car shoppers, conducted in May for this article, asked, “What is your overall opinion about the development of self-driving cars?” It showed 22 percent of customers were excited by the prospect. A survey of auto owners in 2019 showed 31 percent of them were excited for autonomous cars. The question about the long-term future for the world’s cars is far from settled, and the experts (some of whom see disaster for the planet if people own autonomous cars as we own our cars now) differ sharply in their perception of where we’re heading… Read the full article...
by Innovative Mobility Research | May 29, 2020 |
Susan Shaheen May 2020 Sharing rides is a longstanding tradition that predates even horse-and-buggy travel. Recent innovations, however, make sharing a ride easier, more convenient, and more efficient. Innovative mobility services premised on pooling — getting multiple riders into the same vehicle — can lower travel costs, mitigate congestion, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also offer travelers more mobility choices between the traditional bookends of auto ownership and public transit. The motivations for pooling are simple. There are economic incentives. Cars are among the most underused capital assets in our economy, sitting empty 95 percent of the time and usually carrying only one person the rest of the time. If cars were used more often, and if they carried two, three, or four passengers, their cost per rider, and per hour, would drop dramatically. But the benefits of pooling go well beyond cheaper mobility. If the car is carrying many people who might otherwise drive themselves, sharing can result in fewer vehicles on the road, which means less air pollution and energy use and fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and parking spaces. With more than 1 billion cars and light trucks in the world, the potential for major reductions in pollution and GHGs is huge — in the United States and most other countries. We know that technologically, a future with many shared rides is now possible. What we don’t know is whether and under what conditions people will be willing to make that transition. Thinking about this possibility requires… Read full article...
