Mobility’s latest News #8
Here’s the latest weekly news about the sharing mobility industry.
With the raise of new means of transport, the sidewalk no longer belongs solely to pedestrians and has become a popular subject of discussion. Safety concerns, a shortage of space, illegally dumped, parked and ridden vehicles are some of the issues cities are facing. “Sidewalks are, not coincidentally, chronically neglected infrastructure in many cities — a phenomenon that reflects the primacy of the vehicles that use the roadways a few feet away, and the lack of power of those who rely on sidewalks for basic mobility.” Continue reading to find out whether this will change with the Street of the Future…
Sidewalk Labs has presented their vision of the future street “as a series of removable, modular, flexible pavers. Contrary to today’s concrete-based, fixed way of doing things, the idea here is that these chunks of public space can be reconfigured or lit up differently at different times, thereby reordering the streets with a firm nudge or a flick of a light switch. What is during the morning rush hour a bus-only corridor might transform into a kids’ play space during the day.” Partnering with the City of Toronto, Sidewalk Labs has been working on a living model of its research.
Ride-hailing not a cost-effective replacement for car ownership
A recent study from AAA reveals that ride-hailing is not a cost-effective replacement for car ownership. With the raise of new players and the improvement of availability and flexibility, distances travelled in ride-hailing cars have increased tremendously in the last years. At the same time, the cost of owning and driving a car has dropped. “The study found that it would cost the average city dweller $20,118 a year to rely solely on ride-hailing services, compared to $10,049 a year in a new car including parking costs.”
‘Peak Car’ and the End of an Industry
“Peak car — a time in the not-too-distant future when sales of private vehicles across the western world will plateau before making a swift descent.With the age of car-sharing, battery-powered fleets and self-driving cars upon us, automakers need to reinvent themselves into mobility companies to survive.”
Regulation of carpooling market in Moscow?
The City of Moscow has drafted a bill that would slow down the raise of carsharing, car pooling and online taxi booking. How much regulation does the booming industry need?
New Ride-Sharing App launched in Brazil
Waze has launched a new ride-sharing app in Brazil, their second biggest market. During the launch, Waze is offering promotions, that way trying to attract Brazilian users. Will be interesting to observe the adoption within Brazilians who are supposed to be “one of the world’s early adopters of new technology solutions.”
