Like me you've probably noticed the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of DOLLARS being invested in services like Car2Go, DriveNow (one way), Über, Lyft & Sidecar (taxi) and CiteeCar (plain old round trip carsharing). The sharing economy is a hot topic, not only on the blogosphere, but with entrepreneurs, VC firms and in the bureaus of a number of major cities around the world. Something is definitely happening and it's going to transform mobility in urban areas, soon!
These new mobility services — whether classic carsharing, point to point/flexible carsharing or shared seats in vehicles — are transforming mobility cities. Consumers are voting with the pocketbooks and investors seem to be irrationally exuberant that shared transportation may be the "internet" investment golden calf of the new century.
But cities are also feeling a pinch, as they struggle to come to terms with access to the public right of way for carsharing parking, as well as attempting to figure out a regulatory strategy for services that challenge the traditional domain of taxis.
These are just a sample of issues that will be discussed at the upcoming Shared Use Mobility Summit meeting, being held in San Francisco, October 10-11, 2013.
“These shared uses can be integrated and linked with public transit,” said Susan Shaheen, PhD, co-director of the UC Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center and organizer of the conference.
“Shared mobility is already familiar through carsharing companies like City CarShare and Zipcar or through bike sharing kiosks. Dynamic-ridesharing systems, like Carma, are part of this, as are other types of sharing networks such as Sidecar and Lyft. It’s evolving into a new industry.”
The overall goals, said Dr. Shaheen, include helping to provide more mobility choices, reducing traffic congestion, filling empty seats, mitigating various forms of pollution, helping people control transportation costs, reducing fossil fuel consumption, reducing pressures on parking spaces, and improving efficiency. Employment opportunities are created through these services as well. It also provides transportation choices for those who cannot afford to buy and maintain a vehicle.
The list of confirmed speakers include:
- Sunil Paul, CEO Sidecar
- Gabe Klein, Chicago Dept. of Transportation
- Sean O'Sullivan, CEO of Carma
- Timothy Papandreou, Deputy Director San Francisco MTA
- Lisa Gansky, Mesh Labs, author and "markitect",
- Jennifer Dill, Transportation Oregon Research and Education Consortium, Portland State University (OTREC),
- Natalie Foster, Director of Peers (supporting sharing economy),
- Sharon Feigon, Alternative Transportation for Chicagoland Inc. (formerly I-Go Carsharing CEO),
- Guy Fraker, CEO of get2kno Inc, and futurist, author and insurance industry specialist,
- Alan Greenburg, Senior Policy Analyst, Federal Highway Administration
(And look for me somewhere on the program, as well.)
Below is a tentative listing of sessions. The updated current program and speakers are here.
Day 1
- The Nuts & Bolts: Public Bikesharing, Carsharing, Personal Vehicle Sharing, Ridesharing, Innovations for Providing & Sharing Rides, and Shuttle Service
- Some Success Stories
- The Sharing Economy: Scaling the Shared-Use Mobility Marketplace
- Governance 2.0 (“Micro” Level): Shared-Use Policy Approaches for City and County
- The Impacts of Shared-Use Mobility Services
- Spotlight Evening Panel: The Future of Mobility and Transportation Policy and Planning
Day 2
- Fostering Multi-Modal Integration and Public Transit Connections
- Shared-Use Mobility Panels: Industry Updates and Policy Considerations
- Mobility Sector Breakouts: Encouraging Policy and Multi-Modal Collaboration
- Afternoon Pick-Your-Segment:
- a) Insuring Shared-Use Mobility Services
- b) Bikesharing: Funding 2.0
- c) Ridesharing Institute Breakout Discussion
- Final Summary: The Future of Shared-Use Mobility
Registration for the Shared Use Mobility Summit is $350 for the two day session, including lunch both days. Here is registration and conference hotel information.
Shared-Use Mobility Summit sponsors include U.S. Federal Highway Administration, State Farm, Toyota, Enterprise Car Share, Capitol Corridor, Cubic, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Ridesharing Institute, Transportation Research Board, the California Department of Transportation, American Public Transportation Association, UC Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Center, SMART, get2kno, Lyft, Carsharing Association, Car2go, Zipcar, DriveNow, bikeshare.com, ITS America, ITS California, meshlabs, and others. The conference has received generous support from a number of sponsors, including numerous sharing economy companies and the Rockerfeller Foundation.
Hope to see you there.
