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February 15, 2015 - Issue 56
"Traffic jams occur when demand for our infrastructure exceeds supply. Transportation demand management (TDM) offers fiscally responsible programs that promote better use of our existing infrastructure."
- Lois DeMeester, CEO, Mobility Lab and DS&MG
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 President Obama has released his proposed budget, which includes $478 billion over six years for infrastructure, including a much-needed 75% increase in transit spending.  | |
Paul Mackie, communications director,
Mobility Lab
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State DOTs would also be given incentives to expand bicycling and walking options, TIGER grant funding would be increased, and bridges would have some added money for repairs. If the budget somehow makes it through Congress, the most worrying aspect could be that the added money may be foolishly spent by still-highway-obsessed state DOTs. Also a little confounding: much of the funding would come from nothing having to do with transportation - a one-time tax on foreign corporate earnings. And, while it's good that some of this money may "trickle down" to transportation demand management, the reality is that TDM is not in the budget and still has a long way to go to get the funding and policy respect it deserves. Please share our latest infographic far and wide. We hope it helps more influencers to understand how important TDM is to the mix.
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| Transportation Techies Corner |
3 Ideas for Vanquishing Your Driving Headache
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ECONOMIC PROSPERITY: How Uber is Driving Down the Cost of Transportation
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Brandon G. Donnelly, blogger, Architect This City
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Because of all the transportation data that Uber now has (it has a data group called the "math department"), the company can fairly accurately predict what a price cut will do to its ridership levels. This allows Uber to "forward invest" its capital in new services - such as UberPool - before it even has the revenue from the anticipated increase in ridership.
This all means that Uber is going to get cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. Uber is trying to get to what it calls "The Perpetual Ride," which basically
 means that drivers will always have customers. That's quite a goal, but it would mean the absolute lowest prices for consumers (barring any other changes to Uber's cost structure). Dirt-cheap transportation is a pretty compelling value proposition, which is why I continue to believe that cities should be hard at work trying to figure out how to harness this transportation shift. Read more here.  
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RESEARCH: 2 Down Sides to Low Gas Prices
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Paul Goddin, transportation-research reporter, Mobility Lab
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Two new studies demonstrate how low gas prices impact transit ridership and property values. A report by the Mineta Transportation Institute suggests that low gas prices are one reason for increases in driving, and may also cause - if not immediately, then eventually - a decrease in transit ridership. significantly different effects on the sales price of homes in different neighborhoods" where the study was conducted - Clark County, Nevada.
High gas prices' positive effect on the value of housing in the central business district is presumably due to this location being well served by public transit. High gas prices' negative effect on housing in the city outskirts is likewise presumably due to the higher transportation costs associated with car-dependent locations. Read more about these findings here.
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TRANSIT TECH: D.C., S.F., Austin Among Top-Ranked Cities
for Technology-Enabled Transportation
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Amy Eagleburger, technology reporter,
Mobility Lab
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The Innovative Transportation Index, released this month and authored by the Frontier Group and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, looks at 11 different services - from ridesharing to real-time transit information - to identify which cities are doing the most to support residents in a "car-free" or "car-light" lifestyle.
Only Austin, Texas offers all 11 of the services, followed by San Francisco and Washington D.C., each with 10. San Francisco, however, clinched the second rank with a higher number of service providers.
 Key recommendations for city governments and transit professionals wishing to encourage technology-enabled transportation include: - create a universal payment mechanism that works across the various modes of transportation
- adjust municipal planning policies to move away from required parking and towards required shared-use spaces
- increase access to wi-fi, and
- open data, among other suggestions.
Read more here.
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Charles Montgomery and The Happy City
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Author Charles Montgomery is a friend of Arlington County's TDM program, and many of his ideas influence the work of Mobility Lab partners BikeArlington, WalkArlington, goDCgo, Capital Bikeshare, and Arlington Transportation Partners.
It was encouraging last week when one of our contributors, Chris Plano, also heavily cited Montgomery and his book The Happy City (pictured) in his blog titled Space Hogs Are Roadblocking The Happy City From Us. Plano opined: " The private car is by far the least efficient way to move a human being. Instead of letting buses (and their many passengers) languish in congestion created by cars (typically with only one person), let's take a car lane and turn it into a restricted travel lane only for buses and streetcars. Those who are moving most efficiently will be rewarded. Transit will become quicker, easier, and less stressful."
It's a simple concept whose time, as our streets become more and more crowded, has arrived.
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Please Send Us Your Feedback
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We hope Mobility Lab Express, our events, and the research and case studies at our website will be go-to resources for you. In fact, we invite you to share your stories of how transportation-demand improvements have been made in your communities. How are you "moving people instead of cars?" We may publish your feedback, and together we'll strengthen transportation for all!
Simply respond to this email or click here
with any thoughts or suggestions.
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Mobility Lab is a research-and-development initiative for "transportation demand management - moving people instead of cars." Based in Arlington, Virginia - which has one of the largest TDM programs in the U.S. and removes 41,000 car trips from the county's roads each work day - Mobility Lab seeks solutions, stories, and partnerships from all over the world.
Please feel free to share this newsletter with those who may be interested. |
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