Bus advocates aren't going to like the sound of this.
"Uber’s CEO offered an amibitous [sic] vision for the company," reports Theodore Schleifer, "saying he didn’t want it to be seen as purely a car-for-hire company but one that would take any person on any transit system, 'from point A to point B, whatever the best way.'"
That might sound like the promised first-last mile connectivity solution that many hope ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft can offer to supplement bus service—not replace it. But, Khosrowshahi's next words make his intentions clear:
“I want to run the bus systems for a city,” Khosrowshahi said. “I want you to be able to take an Uber and get into the subway — if the trains are running on time, you’ve got real-time data — get in the subway, get out and have an Uber waiting for you for right now. Or know that there’s a bike right there for you that gets you where you’re going in the fastest manner.”
FULL STORY: Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi perfectly sums up how CEOs feel about taking money from SoftBank
More Bus Service Translates to More Bus Riders
A new study finds that bus service determines bus ridership.
BART Adds Uber to its App Without Board Approval
Riders will now see a link to the Uber app at the top of BART’s own transit planning app.
Suburban Detroit Achieves Long-Awaited Bus Service Expansion
Novi and Bloomfield Hills in Southeast Michigan will have transit service for the first time in 28 years.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association