Sept. 4, 2014
What's Inside
California TNC Legislation
FTA Grant Program
Board Election
car2go Acquires RideScout
Resource Spotlight
Member Survey
Award Winner Spotlight
FHWA Offers Regional Workshops
Of Note
Job Postings
Join or Renew ACT Membership
Got News?
ACT Patrons

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California Closer to Approving Legislation to Regulate Transportation Network Companies

 

California Assemblymember Susan A. Bonilla has reached an agreement with transportation network companies (TNCs) Uber and Lyft on language that would require those companies to provide insurance. Until this time, the companies have opposed any legislation that would place regulations on their services or their drivers.


 

The bill's language exempts traditional ridesharing from regulation. Click here to download a PDF copy.


 

Specifically, the legislation calls for the TNCs or the drivers to provide at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for personal injury, and $30,000 for property damage once the app is on. In addition, the companies must provide another $200,000 in excess liability coverage for that initial time. The insurance industry, which supports the bill, would develop new products to help meet its requirements.


 

The bill was approved by the State Senate last week.  It is in enrolling and engrossing and will be presented to the Governor shortly. He has until September 30 to act on the measure.


 
$20 Million for TOD Planning Available

On September 4, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the availability of $20 million in planning grants for transit oriented development (TOD). According to the announcement, the program provides funding to local communities to integrate land use and transportation planning with a transit capital investment that will seek funding through the Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program.

 

The FTA seeks comprehensive planning projects covering an entire transit capital project corridor, rather than proposals that involve planning for individual station areas or only a small section of the corridor. Transit project sponsors must partner with entities that have land use planning authority in the transit project corridor.

 

Eligible proposers and eventual grant recipients under this program must be existing direct recipients of FTA grants. A proposer must either be the project sponsor of an eligible transit capital project or an entity with land use planning authority in an eligible transit capital project corridor. Evidence of a partnership between these two types of entity will be required unless the applicant has both responsibilities.

 

See this fact sheet (PDF) and the full announcement for additional information.

 

Reminder: Board Election Voting Deadline Sept. 12

 

The election for officer and at-large director positions on the ACT Board of Directors concludes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 12. A link to the official online election ballot, including links to candidate statements, was emailed to eligible voters on August 18 from ElectionsOnline.us. ACT members in good standing as of June 17, 2014, are eligible to vote. (Members who joined after that date are precluded from voting based on ACT's election procedures.) While the officer candidates are running unopposed this year, the at-large director race is competitive. Voters can select up to eight of the nine director candidates. Contact Elections/Bylaws Chair Peggy Schwartz at [email protected] or Executive Director Mark Wright at 571.699.3064 ([email protected]), with any questions.

 
car2go Acquires RideScout

car2go North America LLC, a brand of moovel which is owned by Daimler, has acquired the rights of RideScout LLC, an app-based mobility platform in North America dedicated to allowing users to search and compare ground transportation options on demand.

 

"With RideScout's capabilities, car2go North America and moovel GmbH will aim to develop an expanded, intermodal mobility platform, which will be revealed later this year," says Katie Sihler, RideScout's vice president, business development.

 

According to a company statement, RideScout will operate as a subsidiary of car2go North America and will continue to operate out of the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Joseph Kopser and Craig Cummings, chief executive officer and chairman, will continue to manage the business.

 

"Most of the RideScout team that you know will remain together," says Sihler. "It will be business as usual for RideScout, but we are now able to bring more product enhancements and features to the market at a much faster pace as well as expand our marketing reach. I'll be focusing on bringing RideScout Hub, our new analytics, ride sharing, localization, and more product, to universities and TDM programs around the country."

 

 

Resource Spotlight

 

Report Assesses Trip Reduction Ordinance Best Practices

 

A Better City (ABC) and the A Better City Transportation Management Association (ABC TMA) recently released an assessment of best practices in trip reduction ordinances (TRO) from around the U.S. The full report is online at abettercity.org (PDF).

 

The report, which examined 13 regions that were similar to Massachusetts and Boston, was commissioned to guide and inform policy at the city and state level to strengthen the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA-DEP) Rideshare Regulation and Boston's Transportation Access Agreement Plans.

 

"This report identifies several opportunities for Massachusetts and the City of Boston to make adjustments to their existing regulations that could lead to reductions in congestion and improved air quality, while at the same time, create a policy that is not overly burdensome on the private sector," said David Straus, director of development and programs at A Better City.

 

ABC is a nonprofit representing greater Boston's business and institutional leaders on transportation, land development, and the environment. For more information, visit abettercity.org or abctma.com. For questions, contact Allison Simmons at 617.502.6248 or [email protected].

 
Member Survey Coming September 8

 

Watch your email for the ACT Member Survey on Monday, Sept. 8. The email will contain a link to a short but important online questionnaire. The ACT Board of Directors commissioned the survey, which is the product of close collaboration between board member Melissa Madison and ACT Communications Counsel Helen Sullivan. More than a how-are-we-doing-exercise, this survey contains questions that serve to guide future ACT programs and activities and other questions that identify TDM trends. A few questions will be used to generate media coverage about TDM professionals, so please weigh in! "The results of this survey will be very important to ACT's board and staff," Madison says. "We look forward to seeing as many members and non-members participate as possible."


 

Award Winner Spotlight

The ACT Connections newsletter is spotlighting a 2014 award winner in each issue.

 

Heather Wheeler Receives ACT Excellence in Advocacy Award

 

The Community Transportation Association of Idaho has been advocating on behalf of Idahoans and its members for the past 33 years to improve both public transportation and active transportation options throughout the state. In August 2009, Heather Wheeler took the helm as executive director, and the effect of her leadership has been felt not only in Idaho but also in Washington, D.C.

Heather Wheeler, Excellence in Advocacy Award winner

 

Heather moved the organization from a volunteer-run association with a budget of $30,000 and no staff or office to a fully-functional organization with a budget of more than $1 million and 10 staff in six offices throughout the state. She administers all facets of several programs, including I-way, Statewide Mobility Management, Rural Transportation Assistance Program, the Idaho Rideshare Program, State and Local Advocacy, I'M 4 Transportation Options, Fall Conference & Expo, a Spring Leadership Summit, and an annual legislative social. She is a regular participant in ACT Legislative Summits and an ACT Leadership Academy Fellow (2012).

 

Here are highlights of Heather's federal, state, and local efforts:

  • Federal transit benefit parity: Heather worked with the Idaho Congressional Delegation to enact legislation to permanently increase the transit tax benefit to an equal level as parking benefits.
  • Reauthorization or continuation of MAP-21: Heather pushed the Idaho Congressional Delegation to enact a long-term transportation bill that will keep Idaho moving and provide funding formulas and eligibility rules that are in favor of our state.
  • Public transportation presentation to state transportation committees: Heather presents an annual public transportation update to the House and Senate Transportation Committees during the legislative session.
  • State implementation of MAP-21: Heather and CTAI monitor and influence implementation of MAP-21.
  • Legislative social 2014: Heather and CTAI hosted a legislative social in February 2013 at Beside Bardenay in Boise.
  • Local elected officials on the move: CTAI organizes opportunities for state legislators and local elected officials to experience the public transportation and mobility options available within their respective communities and to network with consumers, service providers, and advocates to better understand their mobility needs, all with an eye to gaining a dedicated funding source for public transportation services, and enabling legislation for a local option tax for Idaho communities.
 

FHWA Offers Regional Workshops in Houston, Boston

 

The Federal Highway Administration will hold a regional workshop, "Contemporary Tools and Approaches for Parking Pricing and Management," in Houston and Boston this month. The Houston workshop will be on Sept. 17 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the George R Brown Convention Center. The Boston program will on Sept. 19 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Boston Society of Architects.

 

The workshop is designed primarily for parking program managers and transportation policy leaders from local governments to exchange ideas with national leaders and among themselves. It will feature national experts including representatives from SFpark, where parking meter rates vary by block and time of day to ensure availability, and King County's (Seattle's) Right Size Parking tool, which guides policymakers and developers by providing area and parcel parking utilization rates reflective of development and site characteristics, as well as transit/bicycle access and parking prices. They will join local leaders to share insights and lessons learned.

 

Seating is limited, so register early!

If you have any questions, contact Cara O'Donnell at [email protected].


 
Of Note
  • Transit Displays Help Real Estate Developers: ACT member Ryan Croft, vice president of TransitScreen, was quoted in The Washington Post recently talking about the adoption of the firm's real-time transportation displays by The JBG Companies for the Chevy Chase, Md.-based real estate developer's building lobbies. "We thought we were going to be a service for cities and counties and states,"said Croft. "But the clients that have really been saying they want it are from the real estate industry."In a statement to the Post, Rod Lawrence, a JBG partner, added: "Given our transit-oriented portfolio, this real-time information will prove invaluable to our residents and office workers. It is a great support in our work to create active and sustainable destinations."
  • 2015 TRB Annual Meeting Registration Opens: Registration and hotel reservations are open online now for the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) 94th Annual Meeting, Jan. 11-15, 2014, in Washington, D.C. This year's theme is Corridors to the Future: Transportation and Technology. The meeting covers all transportation modes, with more than 4,500 presentations in nearly 800 sessions addressing topics of interest to all attendees-policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. For the first time in almost 60 years, the TRB Annual Meeting will move to a new venue, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Meeting attendees will have the convenience of all sessions taking place under one roof. More details here.

 

 
Job Postings
Visit the Job Postings page on ACT's website for recent career opportunities. Have jobs to post? Email them to [email protected].
 
Join ACT or Renew Your Membership
If you are not already a member of ACT and want to join, or if you need to renew your membership to take advantage of all the opportunities ahead, click here. Contact TJ Cantwell, ACT's membership director, at [email protected] or call 571.699.3064 for more information.
 
Got News?

Help us spread the word about the people, places and things that are happening in the TDM world. Do you have any news or events that you would like included in a future issue of ACT Connections? Send them to Mark Wright, executive director, at [email protected].
 
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