Several weeks after the on-demand bus service Bridj announced a relaunch in Sydney, Australia, Los Angeles Metro has made public its intentions to kick off a similar program. The agency is looking for a “friend” to help build an on-demand transit program to supplement its fixed services, Wired’s Aarian Marshall reports, clarifying that by “friend” the agency of course means “private company.” Last week, Metro reportedly issued an RFP, and Marshall speculates that potential pa

The air in our cities is about to get a whole lot cleaner. The recent rapid grown in electric car sales is a positive sign for our environment, but it leaves two major problems: 1) Electric cars are still cars, and car-centric development is extremely problematic. 2) Personal vehicles make up just under 60% of transportation-related oil consumption, so electric cars still leave a large piece of the pie untouched. Reuters reports on a new pledge from 12 global cities that coul

Many of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s fundamental problems – like funding and infrastructure – appear to be sticking around. But the agency’s open-data policy provides a lot of space for the public to at least better manage the passenger experience and plan for an improved system down the road. Transit enthusiasts at the Transportation Techies’ seventh Metro Hack Night presented – in a show-and-tell format Wednesday night at Metro headquarters – how the

America’s transportation sector is undergoing a profound shift toward cleaner and more efficient vehicles. Today, transportation is responsible for 27% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, but continued cost declines in electric vehicle (EV) prices and sufficient deployment of charging infrastructure could dramatically reduce transportation emissions over the coming decades.However, EVs are not the only mechanism for achieving emissions reductions in the transportation sector.

Exciting things are happening in university towns across the United States. Many are changing from sleepy commercial strips meeting retail needs to becoming major centers of innovation, entrepreneurship activity and wonderful walkable communities with a real sense of place. This leap to the future is happening right now at the University of Maryland in College Park. The change is everywhere. This fall, a four-star hotel at the University of Maryland opened at the main gate to

To: City Manager (aka Mobility Momma) From: Concerned City Council Member (composite character, not intended to resemble a real live person) Re: Mini Metropolis – Behind the Eight Ball I feel like we in Mini Metropolis have either missed the party or we’re headed for a meltdown on driverless cars. No matter who I talk to, whether it’s a new business we’re courting, our financial advisors, the state DOT, concerned cities, or the taxi drivers, it seems like we are

On a sunny June afternoon in Chandler, Arizona, more than a dozen police and emergency vehicles paced up and down a mostly empty street, with their sirens blaring and emergency lights flashing. All eyes, though, were on the handful of self-driving cars that shared the road. Some drove in front of a fire truck; others cruised alongside police motorcycles and unmarked cars. Spectators, including Police Lieutenant David Ramer, watched in anticipation as the cars decided when to

ubai has big plans for autonomous vehicles — some of the most ambitious globally, in fact — with a strategy that could slash the city-state’s transportation costs by 44 percent and reduce accidents by 12 percent. But while they may not meet Dubai’s scope, the U.S. cities of Palo Alto and Portland are on similar paths, emphasizing pilot zone identification and building up their city fleets in their pursuit of self-driving cars. The ability to compare and contrast those cities