SUMC’s Shared Mobility Toolkit is designed to help cities and public sector leaders better realize the benefits of shared mobility.

Benefits and Problems Addressed

Growing options for mobility: Shared-use mobility fills service gaps where automobile ownership or transit service are not an option for travelers. 

Uncovering opportunities: The mapping and analysis provide cities the ability to find the highest potential areas for taking advantage of shared-use mobility, as well as the optimal mix of shared mobility modes.

Toolkit: The type of toolkit allows users to find customized information for their location and needs. 

Tips & Techniques

Background: New, technology-enabled, shared modes of transportation—such as bikesharing, carsharing, and ridesourcing— are helping to fill transportation gaps, create first/last mile connections with public transit, reduce traffic congestion, cut household transportation costs, and lessen harmful greenhouse gas emissions. 

Shared Mobility Policy Database: Features more than 700 of the most important shared mobility policies, studies and strategic plans in the United States. The database allows cities to access best practices and determine how other local governments are addressing new developments in shared mobility.

Mapping & Opportunity Analysis Tool: Pinpoints shared mobility vehicle locations in more than 50 North American cities. The tool also incorporates census data, transit quality, and other information to help cities better understand where greater service is needed, and what shared modes the market can support.

Shared Mobility Benefits Calculator: Models the impacts of shared mobility growth scenarios. Cities can use the calculator to assess potential decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, reductions in vehicle miles traveled and other benefits from implementing various transportation improvements.

Indicators of Potential: (1) Untapped potential in dense downtowns; (2) downtowns in smaller cities; (3) neighborhoods with moderate residential density; (4) inner-ring suburban areas; (5) First/Last mile connections to transit stations, in particular terminal nodes; (6) Densely populated, low-income neighborhoods.

Supporting policy areas:(1) Embed specific requirements in requests for proposals (RFPs) to encourage utilization of common technology platforms and expand services to diverse neighborhoods and populations; (2) Open up street space to prioritize shared modes; (3) Experiment aggressively with pilot projects; (4) Eliminate minimum parking ordinances to deter single-occupancy vehicle trips in favor of shared modes; (5) Pursue public-private partnerships to build first/last mile connections to transit; (6) Set mode shift goals to prioritize actions that support shared mobility; (7) Make equity a focus by setting rules that require accessible vehicles and service availability to all residents and neighborhoods; (8)Require that shared mobility operators share data so cities can assess their impact and integrate new services into their transportation plans 

Hot Buttons: Shared-use mobility is sometimes seen as poaching rides from transit, so getting buy in to use the tools may require up-front discussions on harnessing benefits and limiting potential impacts. 

Resources

Shared-Use Mobilty Toolkit for Cities

Website with links to individual tools - Shared Use Mobility Center